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A review by bookapotamus
From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein
4.0
From the Corner of the Oval is the EXACT book you want to read for all the revealing scoop inside the Obama Administration White House and what it would be like to work inside. We see what it's like to work alongside the president, travel the world and hang out with other staffers. MINUS the boring political swill and old school players in Washington, DC. OK, well there ARE technically players, but of a "sleep me with and then don't talk to me for months" kinda way.
It's not so much about the inner workings of Obama's administration - you aren't going to learn any federal secrets or inside Obama family scoop - but follows one young woman's journey working in the depths of the white house on a super-low rung of the totem pole, as she builds some pretty fun relationships and interactions between the staffers.
Beck Dorey-Stein is living in Washington D.C. at an all-time career low (out of work teacher) when through of all things - a vague Craigslist ad - is hired as a stenographer in the Obama White House. She is totally out of her element and finds herself navigating the DC elite, finding out who she is and what she wants from life and making WAY TOO MANY HORRIBLE mistakes in love.
I LOVED getting all the inside looks to what a day could be like in the White House from a 20-somethings' perspective. She zooms all over the world in Air Force One following POTUS to just about every speaking engagement he had throughout almost his entire administration. She has several fun interactions with him, and sees and experiences high and lows of our country and our world that she will never forget. All the while, she is navigating falling in love and trying to find where in this world she fits in.
She has a really fun group of friends and I thought every character in the memoir deserved some more attention. I do wish there was a bit more development or backstory of some of the people she is closest to, but we mostly learn about Beck's life here. At some points you can feel how hard she truly tries to make relationships work, but it gets really intense and a bit annoying, and you're like "Get your Sh*t together already woman!" But that's the story - Beck is trying to get her Sh*t together and it's a fun journey to follow!
There's some super colorful language - so if calling Congress a 'Bag of D*cks' is not your thing... be forewarned! I personally enjoy a good F-bomb every now and again, so it only made the story more light and fun. I TORE through this. It's fun, and fascinating, and I wanted so much more!!
It's not so much about the inner workings of Obama's administration - you aren't going to learn any federal secrets or inside Obama family scoop - but follows one young woman's journey working in the depths of the white house on a super-low rung of the totem pole, as she builds some pretty fun relationships and interactions between the staffers.
Beck Dorey-Stein is living in Washington D.C. at an all-time career low (out of work teacher) when through of all things - a vague Craigslist ad - is hired as a stenographer in the Obama White House. She is totally out of her element and finds herself navigating the DC elite, finding out who she is and what she wants from life and making WAY TOO MANY HORRIBLE mistakes in love.
I LOVED getting all the inside looks to what a day could be like in the White House from a 20-somethings' perspective. She zooms all over the world in Air Force One following POTUS to just about every speaking engagement he had throughout almost his entire administration. She has several fun interactions with him, and sees and experiences high and lows of our country and our world that she will never forget. All the while, she is navigating falling in love and trying to find where in this world she fits in.
She has a really fun group of friends and I thought every character in the memoir deserved some more attention. I do wish there was a bit more development or backstory of some of the people she is closest to, but we mostly learn about Beck's life here. At some points you can feel how hard she truly tries to make relationships work, but it gets really intense and a bit annoying, and you're like "Get your Sh*t together already woman!" But that's the story - Beck is trying to get her Sh*t together and it's a fun journey to follow!
There's some super colorful language - so if calling Congress a 'Bag of D*cks' is not your thing... be forewarned! I personally enjoy a good F-bomb every now and again, so it only made the story more light and fun. I TORE through this. It's fun, and fascinating, and I wanted so much more!!