I have a talk that I’ve delivered many times using The Residence and First Women as discussion points, looking at life inside the White House from JFK’s administration to recent history. I include rare photos in the presentation. I interviewed hundreds of former butlers, housekeepers, presidents, first ladies and their children to tell the story of recent political history through a personal lens for both books. The Residence was a #1 New York Times Bestseller and was called “a revealing look at life inside the White House. . . it’s Downton Abbey for the White House staff” by the Today Show.
A remarkable history with elements of both In the President’s Secret Service and The Butler, The Residence offers an intimate account of the service staff of the White House, from the Kennedys to the Obamas.
America’s First Families are unknowable in many ways. No one has insight into their true character like the people who serve their meals and make their beds every day. I pull back the curtain on the world’s most famous address. Full of stories and details by turns dramatic, humorous, and heartwarming, The Residence reveals daily life in the White House as it is really lived through the voices of the maids, butlers, cooks, florists, doormen, engineers, and others who tend to the needs of the President and First Family.
My book First Women was called “[A] gossipy, but surprisingly deep, look at the women who help and sometimes overshadow their powerful husbands” by USA Today. In First Women I take an intimate, news-making look at the true modern power brokers at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: the First Ladies, from Jackie Kennedy to Michelle Obama.
One of the most underestimated—and challenging—positions in the world, the First Lady of the United States must be many things: an inspiring leader with a forward-thinking agenda of her own; a savvy politician, skilled at navigating the treacherous rapids of Washington; a wife and mother operating under constant scrutiny; and an able CEO responsible for the smooth operation of countless services and special events at the White House. I draw on a wide array of untapped, candid sources—from residence staff and social secretaries to friends and political advisers—to tell the stories of the ten remarkable women who have defined that role since 1960.
I offer new insights into this privileged group of remarkable women, including Jacqueline Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Patricia Nixon, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama. The stories she shares range from the heartwarming to the shocking and tragic, exploring everything from the first ladies’ political crusades to their rivalries with Washington figures; from their friendships with other first ladies to their public and private relationships with their husbands.
Candid and illuminating, this first group biography of the modern first ladies provides a revealing look at life upstairs and downstairs at the world’s most powerful address. In this book talk I bring these women to life as three dimensional complicated and fascinating people who sometimes drove history.