Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life

by Jenna Bush Hager

Hardcover, 2017

Status

Available

Publication

Grand Central Publishing (2017), Edition: First Ed First Printing, 256 pages

Description

Biography & Autobiography. Family & Relationships. Nonfiction. HTML:The former first daughters share intimate stories and reflections from the Texas countryside to the storied halls of the White House and beyond. Born into a political dynasty, Jenna and Barbara Bush grew up in the public eye. As small children, they watched their grandfather become president; just twelve years later they stood by their father's side when he took the same oath. They spent their college years watched over by Secret Service agents and became fodder for the tabloids, with teenage mistakes making national headlines. But the tabloids didn't tell the whole story. In Sisters First, Jenna and Barbara take readers on a revealing, thoughtful, and deeply personal tour behind the scenes of their lives, as they share stories about their family, their unexpected adventures, their loves and losses, and the sisterly bond that means everything to them.… (more)

Rating

½ (53 ratings; 4)

User reviews

LibraryThing member TexasBookLover
MEMOIR
Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush, with foreword by Laura Bush
Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life
Grand Central Publishing
Hardcover, 978-1-5387-1141-5 (also available as an e-book, an audio book, and on Audible), 256 pgs., $28.00
October 24, 2017

Sisters First:
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Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life is the new memoir from twin sisters Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush, daughters of former United States president George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush, who penned the foreword, and of whom Barbara writes, “beneath her flats and cardigans, my mom is in fact our closet hippie and Rastafarian.” Written in the thirtysomething siblings’ alternating voices, the first-person narrations are sometimes gregarious, sometimes introspective, often deeply personal — gently but firmly casting aside stereotypes, and drawing back the curtain on what have already been extraordinary lives.

A very pretty book, the memoir includes many cute, candid photos of the sisters and their parents, as well as the extended Bush clan. In a nice touch, it also includes reproductions of letters (grandmother and former U.S. first lady Barbara Bush’s nickname is the “Enforcer”), texts, emails (grandfather and former U.S. president George H. W. Bush signs himself “Grampster”), and even wedding toasts. The title is borrowed from the concluding line in Mary Oliver’s poem “The Summer Day.”

The memoir is arranged loosely in chronological order, but more importantly by subject, the text reading like essays, almost like diary entries. Subjects include the sisters’ experiences of Secret Service protection; the election night of 2000; campaigning in 2004; the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; and thoughts on the Iraq War. They don’t shy away from their father’s former alcohol problems or their own youthful transgressions.

Jenna and Barbara are fraternal twins who arrived a few weeks early and were named for their grandmothers, and whose earliest memories are from Midland, Texas, and Kennebunkport, Maine. The sisters’ different personalities come through clearly.

Barbara, the “little girl [with a] big name” (pizza places would hang up on her when she called to order), writes lyrical descriptions of Maine childhood summers, movingly of a teenage friend’s suicide, hilariously of living with Secret Service protection (“Who better to ask for male relationship advice than the two guys sitting in the front seat of the car with you?”). She debunks assumptions that policies and opinions are passed down genetically (“political DNA”).

Jenna tells of the sisters’ first separation when they were six years old and went to Camp Longhorn during the summer, her confusion at seeing the Grampster on the cover of Newsweek branded with “Wimp,” and that time her date (now her husband) ran out of gas on an incline and rolled backwards into the Secret Service’s armored Suburban. Jenna endears with self-deprecating asides.

Now Jenna is married with two small daughters of her own, reporting for NBC; Barbara is the CEO and cofounder of Global Health Corps, which works for health equity around the world because “health is a human right”; the sisters live four blocks from each other in New York City.

And, y’all, the White House is haunted.

Originally published in Lone Star Literary Life.
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LibraryThing member SABC
Discover the strong ties between the twin daughters of George and Laura Bush....Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush. In this delightful book they share behind the scene stories of their adventures at home, camp and the White House.....enjoy.
LibraryThing member Kathl33n
What a family full of love! I listened to the audio book and Jenna Bush is really an excellent storyteller.
LibraryThing member dara85
This was a fun read. At times I laughed out loud. So full of love for family and sisters.
LibraryThing member Beth3511
Breezy, pleasant read. There aren't as many White House details as I'd hoped, but Hager and Bush didn't actually live in the White House that long. A very loving tribute to their parents and grandparents, especially their Bush grandparents. The summers at Walkers Point in Maine sound wonderful.
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Don't read this looking for a clear-eyed view of George W, Laura, George HW, or Barbara Bush. Even some things that could be seen as negative, such as the late Barbara Bush's sharp tongue, or George W's alcoholism, are painted in a positive light. The authors seem like nice people, with a sense of noblesse oblige. They don't really dig into their privilege. Barbara Pierce Bush makes a very good case for attending boarding school in Rome for a year, and her parents can't find any objections, so she gets to go. No real discussion of how she was aware of such a school (she visited Rome with her grandmother), or that for thousands of teenagers, a safe, adequately funded high school in their district is an unimaginable dream. I enjoyed reading it, but I'm glad I didn't buy it. I don't want to feed into any mistique around the Bushes.
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LibraryThing member bookworm12
Read this one to prep for an interview with Jenna Bush Hager. Interesting insight into the lives of the two famous sisters. I loved the tidbits about their parents and the story about Putin's life.
LibraryThing member CarrieWuj
3.5 An articulate memoir penned by both Bush twins. It was interesting to learn what life was like having a grandfather, then a father in the White House and going through adolescence in the Texas governor's mansion; it gives a very human side to people we all feel we have a claim to by virtue of
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their public persona. And of course very timely due to Barbara Bush's recent death. Though I don't agree with their family politics (they don't always either I learned), I was sympathetic to the intensity of the media's gaze, not to mention starting college with a secret service detail in tow. The family is admirable for its work on social issues like AIDs and Barbara the younger currently runs a public health NGO, so altruism seems to be the lasting legacy of their dynasty. And compared to current Republican leadership, the 90s/early 00s era feels like a blissful reign. Their sisterly twin connection is a little self-indulgent at times -- the book includes some personal notes to each other and many anecdotes of support and shenanigans, but the overall takeaway is positive and admirable. Some cute family pictures too!
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LibraryThing member clp412
I really enjoyed hearing about Jenna and Barbara's lives. I am close to their age so I can relate to some of the same things (flip phones, etc.). I love how the Bush family writes so many personal letters and they are shared in the book. Hearing the girls read their story was wonderful. This book
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touched upon political topics (like the Gulf War, elections) but it was because it was part of their lives and not in a preachy way. I loved hearing about the bond they share and how they have chosen very different paths in life but remain close. 5/5 Stars
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LibraryThing member bookwyrmm
Enjoyable, but despite the title, this still seemed very superficial; definitely does as poignant as Everything Beautiful in Its Time.

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2016-10

Physical description

256 p.; 6 inches

ISBN

9781538711415
Page: 0.8798 seconds