Spoken From the Heart

Hi! I am going to post a little differently today, because I couldn't really find any interesting history things. I am sure there are some out there, but I didn't want to take the energy to search for hours and hours. If you have someone you really want me to post about then just put it in a comment and I will see what I can do.

So, I am going to tell you about a book I am reading. (sorry, don't want to steal book day's thunder.) It is called, Spoken From the Heart, by former first lady, Laura Bush. I have always admired first ladies and Laura Bush in particular. I have thought that she is classy, intelligent, poised, and elegant. None of the kind thoughts I have had about her before reading her book have been diminished in any way by reading it. I am about 3/4 of the way through the over 400 page book and am loving it. I was only 6 when George W. Bush was elected president, but I vaguely remember that day. I have had a wonderful and sometimes sad time going through the part of the book where she talks about the presidency. I remember 9/11 which she vividly and terrifyingly describes. I remember the Anthrax scare, and Mrs. Bush relates how none of the mail sent to the White House was allowed to be open, so it stayed in storage for about three years. I remember President Bush going to the troops overseas and having Thanksgiving with them. I thought that that was just one of the nicest things to do for our brave men and women serving as soldiers.

Mrs. Bush starts the book at the beginning of her life and some of my favorite parts of the book have been her just telling you about the normal things she did. I think that is why I like this book so much, because Mrs. Bush is so normal! She didn't have an extravagant or horrible childhood, she tells you about the good (having a tender heart for the women in Afghanistan) and the bad. (she drank shot glasses of beer occasionally until she was seven when she signed a temperance card at her church. She said that the temperance thing didn't last all the way into college and such.) I love her openness about all parts of her life. Mrs. Bush talks about high school dances and football games, but she also tells you about all the diplomats that visited during President Bush's presidency and how they took some of them to their Crawford, Texas ranch to visit.

All through the book Mrs. Bush talks about her love for education particularly reading. She was a school teacher in inner city schools after finishing college and she has a passion for children's literacy. She has co-authored a children's book with her daughter Jenna. She started the first Texas Book Festival as the first lady of Texas when her husband was governor and she started the National Book Festival in Washington D.C. I love this part of her because I also love reading.

I would recommend this book to people who are interested in history, first ladies, Texas (which she was born and raised in and loves very much.) or Mrs. Bush. The book is maybe a little long for some middle schoolers and maybe some parts would be a little hard for them to grasp. I have cried during some parts, but they are mostly patriotic tears for our troops and such. I borrowed my copy from the library, because I wanted to see if I liked it. But if you are interested in any of the above topics I would recommend that you buy it. (I would!) The book is inspiring and historical and you might learn a few new words!