Most of us had never heard of Governor Sarah Palin prior to her run for Vice President of the United States in 2008. As a working mother, I find her absolutely fascinating. Not only was she the governor of the state of Alaska, she is also a mother of five children, one of whom has Down’s syndrome. She looks just as comfortable in a skirt and a pair of pumps as she does hauling red salmon onto a slippery boat deck in Bristol Bay. How on Earth does she do it all? As I watched the campaign unfold, I became very frustrated with the media attacks on her. The frustration compounded when the campaign headquarters refused to respond to any of the wild stories about Sarah. I’ve been looking forward learning more about Ms. Palin for as long as I’ve been aware of her. Now I’m happy to share my thoughts on her book with working moms everywhere!
I was hoping to learn three things from her book:
1. How did she balance work and family life, and did she have any insight that would benefit me and my family?
2. What was her personal response to all of the media’s accusations?
3. What are her future political plans?
This book treated me to a stirring view of Alaska. Ms. Palin wrote about it with such as passion that I found myself looking at houses for sale in Alaska on the Internet. I learned a little bit about the fishing industry, the oil industry, and I also found a very interesting use for duct tape (I’m not going to tell you what Alaskans use it for- you’ll have to read the book yourself.) I gained a sense for the independent spirit of the people up there, and it made me wish that I saw more of that in the people in my state. She told stories of growing up that also helped me better understand the work ethic in Alaska.
Sarah Palin walks her readers through the entire election, from the first phone call from Senator John McCain asking if she would be interested, all the way to resigning from her post as governor of Alaska. She tells us her side of all the stories that we read about in the paper or heard about on television. Those stories confirm my worst fears about our liberal media. I also think that her campaign headquarters deliberately sabotaged their efforts at winning the election. There were actually sections of this book that made me so angry that I had to take a break from reading it to calm down.
The book is written in an easygoing, conversational style that was simple to follow and fast to read. The stories were interesting, revealing, and educational. The only element of the style that I did not care for was her talking about God. I understand and respect her faith, but I prefer to not read about it. It makes me uncomfortable as I don’t like to become that intimate with people’s thoughts. For the most part, I could relate to Ms. Palin and her stories; especially how she interacted with her children during the campaign. At one point she shares with us how she went trick-or-treating on Halloween with her daughter Piper and her son Trig between campaign stops. That resonated with the working mom in me, as I am always trying to make sure that no one aspect of my life suffers at the hand of another.
Did the book meet my three expectations? Yes and no. It answered all of my questions about the media’s coverage of the campaign. I did get a sense for how Sarah managed her work and her family, but it certainly wasn’t a “how to” book by any means. I didn’t expect it to be, but I had hoped to learn more. And what of her post-politics plans? She seems to be leaving it up to God to help her determine the best way to serve her nation next.
I give this book a Business Mom rating of 3. If you are interested in the story of Sarah Palin- either because you are curious after following the elections, or because of her significance in American history, I would recommend it to you. I enjoyed my time reading this one and I am looking forward to following her career, wherever God may lead it.
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