A review by daybreak1012
I Love You, Ronnie by Nancy Reagan

4.5

Ronald Reagan was the first President of whom I have active memories. I clearly remember the day my Gram came into the livingroom and changed the channel off of PBS to some live breaking news that the President had been shot. I was young enough that I didn't comprehend what that actually meant; I was mostly miffed that my daily watching of Sesame Street had been interrupted. The American Presidency Project has rated each President of the United States on his final approval ratings since Truman, and only Bill Clinton has a higher rating than Reagan. I personally find him a fascinating person and I looked forward to this book.

What I liked about I Love You, Ronnie:
The glimpse into a relationship - Nancy Reagan openly shares the Reagan love story. Whatever you feel about his politics, this was a man who adored his wife, whatever stage of life and career he was in. That is a beautiful thing.
It's a different view of a political figure - This wasn't about his Presidency. This was about who he was outside of the public eye. I appreciated a different perspective.
This is as much Ronald's memoir as Nancy's - She may have been the author of the book, and readily shared her own thoughts and reflections, but the letters and the notes told the story of Ronald. It was a lovely juxtaposition.

What I didn't care for:
You don't realize right away that you don't need to struggle to read his handwriting - I initially thought, since they were included as images within the book, that in order to know what he said to Nancy, I had to decipher handwriting that wasn't always legible. It turned out that Nancy transcribed the content into the body of her writing. I wish I had known that before wasting precious time trying to read the actual letters.

It is easy, particularly in our especially polarized and partisan political climate, to forget that the people elevated to the highest role in the country are still real people who worry about their loved ones, still have to be spouse, possibly parent, while also running the country, and who might take the time out of their day to pen a love note to their significant other. To witness the intimate (though never inappropriate!) messages Ronald penned to Nancy highlighted their devotion to one another. I was permitted to learn about the man apart from his public life. It was heartwarming and sweet. I truly enjoyed the letters Nancy chose to share. Theirs was an authentically beautiful love story.