BOTH SIDES NOW
How This Joni Mitchell Lyric Inspired Hillary Clinton’s Latest Memoir
The new book follows the Secretary of State's fight against the 'firestorms of national politics,' while offering insight into her almost 50-year marriage to President Bill Clinton
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September 17, 2024
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Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waves as she leaves the stage after speaking on the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19, 2024. AFP via Getty Images
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Hillary Clinton is back in the spotlight this month but not for the reasons you think.
While the 2024 presidential campaign is into its final few weeks, Clinton has largely stayed out of the spotlight, save for a Democratic National Convention appearance to formally endorse Kamala Harris. But the former presidential candidate and Secretary of State is in the public eye once again, on the heels of a personal new book that offers what publishers are calling Clinton’s most “candid views on life and love, politics, liberty, democracy, the threats we face, and the future within our reach.”
NEW RELEASE
Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty
$20.98 $29.99 30% off
$20.99 $29.99 30% off
Titled “Something Lost, Something Gained,” the new book was released September 17 and quickly shot to the top of Amazon’s bestsellers chart (just behind a new Dolly Parton cookbook).
Considered to be an epilogue to her 2016 presidential campaign, the new book chronicles Clinton’s time on the front lines fighting the “firestorms of national politics” that have played out in recent years, with the Secretary of State writing about the dangers of extremism and the campaign against women’s rights. But the book also finds Clinton reminiscing about her personal life, from her upcoming 50th wedding anniversary, to her new role as grandmother. As the publisher notes state, “She takes us along as she returns to the classroom as a college professor, enjoys the bonds inside the exclusive club of former First Ladies, moves past her dream of being president, and dives into new activism for women and democracy.”
Of course, there have been some public setbacks in her personal life and career, and the former First Lady writes in the intro about drawing inspiration from Joni Mitchell, and the music legend’s 2024 Grammy Awards performance. “She held court like a queen,” Clinton writes, of Mitchell’s poignant rendition of “Both Sides Now,” adding that she was watching from home “in rapt attention.”
The song had long held meaning for Clinton, who writes that she’s been a fan of Mitchell’s since the Sixties (the Clintons even named daughter Chelsea after the lyrics of Mitchell’s song, “Chelsea Morning”). “Some days it felt as if looking ‘at life from both sides now’ gave me enormous clarity — about right and wrong, and what it would take to make progress,” Clinton writes. “Other days, it just felt confusing.”
“Personally and professionally I’ve come through so many highs and lows,” Clinton goes on to confess. “Times where I’ve felt on top of the world and others when I was in a deep, dark hole. After all these years,” she reveals, “I really have looked at life and love ‘from both sides now.'”
From publishers Simon & Schuster, the 336-page hardcover is Clinton’s second official memoir, after 2003’s “Living History,” which chronicled her time in the White House with husband Bill Clinton. You can also listen to the audiobook for free with a free trial to Audible here.
AUDIOBOOK VERSION
Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty
$20.20 $23.09 13% off
The audiobook is narrated by Clinton herself and has a run time of 13 hours and 25 minutes. The new memoir is also available for download on Kindle.
The former Secretary of State has authored or co-authored a number of other books in recent years including “What Happened,” which detailed her unsuccessful 2016 presidential campaign, and the bestseller, “It Takes a Village,” which was first published in 1996.
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