First Lady from Plains

Brief product details: Houghton Mifflin hardcover, 370 pp; includes glossy photo plates and index. This is the memoir of First Lady Rosalynn Carter, written after Jimmy Carter's reelection loss to Ronald Reagan, and published in 1984. Just a few years prior, the relatively young couple left the White House defeated and returned home to Plains to find their finances, held in trust during the presidency, had evaporated. They were unemployed and deep in debt. They had to plan for and raise funding for a presidential library - a huge undertaking. President Carter's mother and his sister Ruth had both passed away. The period of time in which this book was written must have been an extremely difficult and challenging one for the Carters. Despite all of this, "First Lady From Plains" is a nicely written, upbeat memoir. Rosalynn Carter really opens up with this book, and for the first time I felt like I was getting to know this seemingly shy and private person. Mrs. Carter's writing style is thoughtful and intimate, and quite often through this book it seemed as if a close friend was sharing personal memories with me. "First Lady From Plains" begins with Rosalynn's childhood in Plains, Georgia. Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter grew up in the same small community at the same time, but the differences in perception between the two become crystal clear through reading this book and Jimmy Carter's biography "An Hour Before Daylight." Their recollections never contradict each other, but it is most interesting to see events through Rosalynn's unique viewpoint. I enjoyed "First Lady From Plains" very much because of this new perspective with which we see Jimmy Carter, the people and events of his presidency, his term as Governor of Georgia, and the Carter family. Rosalynn's alternate yet compatible viewpoint provides genuine warmth that is sometimes missing in Jimmy Carter's writings, one of which was described as "wooden." Jimmy Carter has written prolifically over the last 38 years, but only "First Lady From Plains" provides detailed information about their early married years and their term in the Georgia Governor's Mansion. Rosalynn also brings readers inside the emotional highs and lows of campaigning, the joys and inconveniences of being in the public spotlight, as well as when and how she has had to stand up for herself over the years. This is really the story of a woman's journey from a typical insecure childhood into confident maturity - discovering who she really is - painted against the backdrop of a family's meteoric political rise followed by the world falling down around them. Today, we know the Carter story only gets better from there, and is long from being finished. Rosalynn is lovable and sincere, yet firm and unapologetic. She is true to herself, her family, and her readers. This book was highly acclaimed 25 years ago when it was released, and Rosalynn Carter's story is still as enduring today as it was then.

She was an ideal first lady. And she's written the best look at a president's term through the eyes of his wife.