First published 2021
Senator Tammy Duckworth chronicles her journey from a biracial child fleeing war-torn Cambodia to becoming one of America's most prominent political figures. Duckworth opens with her family's escape from Phnom Penh under gunfire, then traces her path through teenage poverty in Hawaii, where she sold flowers roadside to keep her family fed. She details her military service as a Black Hawk pilot in Iraq, the RPG attack that destroyed both legs and damaged her arm, and her grueling rehabilitation at Walter Reed. The memoir follows her transition from wounded warrior to politician, inspired by meetings with senators Barack Obama and Dick Durbin. Duckworth describes her campaigns for the House and Senate, her work on veterans' issues, and the challenges of balancing public service with motherhood after becoming the first sitting senator to give birth. Throughout, she examines how early experiences with discrimination, poverty, and violence forged the determination that carried her through combat, recovery, and political battles.
Genres: political-science, autobiography, biography-memoir, military-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, overcoming-adversity, public-service
Setting: Cambodia, Hawaii, Iraq, Walter Reed
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
288 pages · Hardcover · Twelve
Content warnings: violence, war