First published 2020
The networks call the 2020 presidential race for Joe Biden on Saturday, November 7. Across America, people pour into streets to celebrate. This collection gathers thirty-six personal essays from writers who lived through that pivotal week when Trump was voted out of office. Contributors range from actress Rosanna Arquette to former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci. Each writer processes the moment differently. Columnist Mary C. Curtis warns that politics affects everyone whether they engage or not. Novelist Christopher Buckley, who once wrote speeches for George H.W. Bush, condemns Republican senators as spineless followers. Mystery writer Stephen Mack Jones addresses Trump directly, reminding him that the White House belongs to taxpayers. Publisher Steve Kettmann frames the collection as documentation of a democracy that nearly collapsed into autocracy but was saved by record voter turnout and activism. The essays capture both the relief and uncertainty of a nation emerging from four years of division.
Genres: american-fiction, political-science, politics, contemporary, social-issues, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: America
Period: 2020
280 pages · Paperback · Wellstone Books