Scan barcode
hhw92's review
5.0
I’m not typically a memoir lover, but I really really enjoyed this. From the little sprinkles of humor to the really unique perspective of a presidential candidate spouse. Just really great and thought provoking
litloulou's review
3.0
I really wanted to like this more but it fell short. I think more details and less proportionally about Pete would have been good.
sarful's review
5.0
4.5
A fascinating, deeply personal and inspiring memoir about a really relatable and down to earth man. It’s been a whirlwind first year of marriage for him and much of this book was needed for him to take a breath and disentangle himself from Pete’s husband, and stand on his own as Chasten Buttigieg.
He takes us from his small rural town in Northern Michigan, to his connection with Pete online to campaigning as a surrogate for his candidate husband.
As a kid and into adulthood, politics was not something he enjoyed. In fact, because his home town is so Republican, to fit in, he put a Bush 04 sticker on his car as a teen. When he finally came out to his parents, it took a long for him to become comfortable with himself and to proud of himself. There’s a lot of internalized and external homophobia he had to come to terms with. The conversation he has with his coming out, is the most personal point in the book, and the hardest to read. I was rooting for him and his dreams of a family and a man that would treat him right.
It takes a hot minute to find him footing, but he thrives as a teacher. So often there are teachers out there that don’t make kids feel like they can be themselves or are worth it. But, it seems Chasten is determined to connect with his students. Which really helped as he was on the campaign trail.
When he meets Pete, it’s like a romance novel. They met online and weren’t able to meet up until months after they began talking, Chasten in Chicago and Pete in South Bend. So their first date was a fairy tale that Pete put together to impress Chasten. How cute is that. And within 6 months they were living together.
Much of the book dove into the campaign trail. This is where Chasten begins to lose a bit of his own identity. He was Pete’s mouthpiece when Pete wasn’t around. People tended to think that now that he’s a public figure, he’s obligated to listen to you, even when it’s rude. And while Chasten is happy to campaign for Pete, it sounds grueling. He describes debates where he’s sit with the other spouses and talk about how some of them might look at others when their spouse got shade, that was comical. In fact, much of this book is funny, Chasten is funny. He gets a little preachy at times, but he’s got every reason to be, it’s his memoir.
Well worth reading. I hope he gets his family, as I also hope Pete stays in politics. Maybe Buttigieg 2028?
A fascinating, deeply personal and inspiring memoir about a really relatable and down to earth man. It’s been a whirlwind first year of marriage for him and much of this book was needed for him to take a breath and disentangle himself from Pete’s husband, and stand on his own as Chasten Buttigieg.
He takes us from his small rural town in Northern Michigan, to his connection with Pete online to campaigning as a surrogate for his candidate husband.
As a kid and into adulthood, politics was not something he enjoyed. In fact, because his home town is so Republican, to fit in, he put a Bush 04 sticker on his car as a teen. When he finally came out to his parents, it took a long for him to become comfortable with himself and to proud of himself. There’s a lot of internalized and external homophobia he had to come to terms with. The conversation he has with his coming out, is the most personal point in the book, and the hardest to read. I was rooting for him and his dreams of a family and a man that would treat him right.
It takes a hot minute to find him footing, but he thrives as a teacher. So often there are teachers out there that don’t make kids feel like they can be themselves or are worth it. But, it seems Chasten is determined to connect with his students. Which really helped as he was on the campaign trail.
When he meets Pete, it’s like a romance novel. They met online and weren’t able to meet up until months after they began talking, Chasten in Chicago and Pete in South Bend. So their first date was a fairy tale that Pete put together to impress Chasten. How cute is that. And within 6 months they were living together.
Much of the book dove into the campaign trail. This is where Chasten begins to lose a bit of his own identity. He was Pete’s mouthpiece when Pete wasn’t around. People tended to think that now that he’s a public figure, he’s obligated to listen to you, even when it’s rude. And while Chasten is happy to campaign for Pete, it sounds grueling. He describes debates where he’s sit with the other spouses and talk about how some of them might look at others when their spouse got shade, that was comical. In fact, much of this book is funny, Chasten is funny. He gets a little preachy at times, but he’s got every reason to be, it’s his memoir.
Well worth reading. I hope he gets his family, as I also hope Pete stays in politics. Maybe Buttigieg 2028?
omgwtfkvb's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Overall good, quick read/listen! My only qualm is that in the audio book he pronounces GIF like JIF peanut butter 😂 (this is important to me, also I am just kidding it’s not)
jdauer5's review
5.0
I love and hate how similar Chasten and my stories are--growing up in conservative, midwest, Christian culture. The first half of this book is about that.
The second half is practically marriage counseling. I learned a lot about how to be a supportive spouse. I kept reading lines out loud to my husband about how we can support each other more. The advice goes both ways--i learned from both things Chasten did for Pete and what Pete did for Chasten. As someone preparing to be a pastor, I'm shocked at how similar the pressures of a political spouse and pastor's spouse are.
The second half is practically marriage counseling. I learned a lot about how to be a supportive spouse. I kept reading lines out loud to my husband about how we can support each other more. The advice goes both ways--i learned from both things Chasten did for Pete and what Pete did for Chasten. As someone preparing to be a pastor, I'm shocked at how similar the pressures of a political spouse and pastor's spouse are.
olivia_martins's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.0