A review of "Promise me, Dad" - a year of hope, hardship, and purpose by U.S President Joe Biden.

Family, Friendship, Public Service and Notes of a grieving father.

Hey Book Friend,

Have you lost someone dear to you, or who have battled cancer or some other potentially deadly disease? The deeply moving memoir "Promise me, Dad" by U.S President Joe Biden, narrates how he handled a period of personal loss that would forever change his family and country.

One beauty about memoirs, is that you can read about the author's challenges, vulnerabilities and triumphs. Beyond their public character, you learn more about their personal stories. U.S. President Joe Biden's touching and moving memoir, "Promise me, Dad," details a family's battle with a deadly brain cancer. The story is set against the demands of his duties as the then-Vice President of the departing Obama administration and the temptations of running for another presidential campaign. The narrative of the brutal realities of cancer, particularly when it affects your child, is extremely heartbreaking. This 274-page book was released in 2017.

The book opens in November 2014, when thirteen members of the Biden family met in Nantucket to celebrate Thanksgiving, a long-standing family custom. Thanksgiving with the Biden family provided a much-needed break, an opportunity for them (the Biden family) to bond, and a chance to consider what the coming year might bring. But compared to all the years before, this one felt unique. Beau Biden, the eldest son of Joe and Jill Biden, had received a brain cancer diagnosis fifteen months previously, and his survival was uncertain. “Promise me, Dad," Beau had told his father. “Give me your word that no matter what happens, you're going to be all right." Joe Biden gave him his word.

The following year, which would be the most significant and difficult in Joe Biden's extraordinary life and career, is chronicled in the book "Promise Me, Dad". In order to address crises in the Ukraine, Central America, and Iraq, then vice president Biden travelled more than 100,000 miles that year. Additionally, he travelled to other states in the United States when Beau required a treatment, surgery, or therapy. Joe Biden balanced the dual demands of upholding his obligations to his country and his family for a full year while Beau struggled for and ultimately lost his life. And the urgent and persistent question of whether he should run for president in 2016 was never far away.

Joe Biden has experience with loss. He lost his first wife and 1-year-old daughter in a car accident when he was a younger U.S. senator, 42 years ago. Beau, his oldest son, was found to have brain cancer. After spending two terms as Delaware's attorney general, Beau, an Iraqi War veteran, had intended to run for governor of the state. He was adored by the populace and regarded as a man of purpose. Many believed that he would eventually run for president of the United States. Sadly, he passed away after receiving several operations, chemotherapy, and medical care from renowned specialists while battling the illness. Joe Biden recorded in his diary - "May 30, 2015, 7:51 pm, it happened. My God, my boy. My beautiful boy."

Beau's passing in that year brought both heartbreaking anguish and genuine triumph. But even in the most trying circumstances, Joe Biden was able to rely on the strength of his close relationships with his family, his faith, and then-US President Barack Obama. Which together make up the majority of the themes in this book.

"Promise me, Dad" delves deeply into how the Biden family divides responsibilities and feelings when a cancer attack occurs. Beau was supported by every member of the family. As I read the book, I was reminded of how my family and I suffered together in 2015 when we had to care for a loved one who had a fatal disease. The entire Biden family was impacted by the brain cancer.

We also see in "Promise me, Dad" how faith may offer you reasons to live and hope. Being a Catholic, Joe Biden found comfort in participating in particular Catholic rituals.

The book's main theme of friendship is another important one. We saw Barack Obama and Joe Biden develop genuine relationship in "Promise me, Dad" long before they were elected to the White House. They discussed topics affecting their government, the nation, the world, and other personal matters during their weekly private lunches as president and vice president. Obama was informed about Beau's medical situation by Joe Biden. They had great regard for one another, trusted their own judgement, and supported one another. They took care to prevent any miscommunication between them from reaching the media. Obama trusted Biden to handle some circumstances that would shape their administration despite Joe Biden's personal struggles - they were a team.

Another case of friendship was the support Beau's family got after his death. Friends from so many parts of Beau's life supported his family in their period of grief.

"Promise me, Dad" is also a story about work and public service as well. As a public servant, Joe Biden never allowed his personal issues to interfere with his work for the American people - "the love for country."

The book also depicts the machinations of both United States internal and foreign politics.

Although I haven't experienced the death of a close family member, I have lost a childhood closest friend, and I am aware of the impact that death has had on his family and community. As a result, I experienced a sense of contrasting emotions and melancholy when reading "Promise me, Dad." Joe Biden gives readers the chance to experience both the urgency of each moment and the days when he felt unable to move yet could not afford to stop. He showed us his vulnerabilities and humanity.

This is a book authored not just by a vice president, but by a father, grandfather, friend, and husband. In "Promise Me, Dad," we learn how our relationships with family and friends keep us going, as well as how hope, purpose, and action may help us get through the agony of grieving and into the hope of a brighter future.

If I am to rename this book, I would title it - Family, Friendship, Public service and Notes of a grieving father.

Joe Biden is the 46th President of the United States. Before taking office, he represented Delaware for 36 years in the U.S Senate and from 2009 - 2017 served as the 47th Vice president of the United States of American.

Other books by him includes;

• Promises to keep: on life and politics.

• His many inaugural speeches.

Have you read a book by Joe Biden?