Publisher's Synopsis
"In the past, for reasons I try to describe, I've often felt I had to be careful in public like I was up on a wire without a net. Now I'm letting my guard under." -Hillary Rodham Clinton, from the introduction of What HappenedForeword by Hillary Rodham Clinton with elucidations by Chelsea Clinton, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michelle Kwan, and numerous others. This book is a look forward at all the positive movements that have come forth from Hillary Rodham Clinton's historic campaign for President. Before there were pink-eared protest caps, before a record number of women raised their hands to run for public office, there was Hillary Rodham Clinton. For 19 months, starting with Clinton's announcement of her candidacy for President, women, and girls dared to believe that experience, hard work, and homework would trump gender could trump gender and put a lady in the White House, at last. This is the insider's education of those heady, hard days told by the lens of the photographer always at Hillary's side and the words of those who pulled with her. This is an informal portrait of one of the most resilient and inspirational leaders in American History.For the first time, Hillary Clinton exposes what she was feeling and thinking during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in History. Now free from the compulsions of running, Hillary gets you inside the intense personal reality of becoming the first woman nominated for President by a major party in an election marked by rage, exhilarating highs, sexism, and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules. This is her most personal memoir yet.In these pages, she explains what it was like to run against Donald Trump, the mistakes she made, how she has coped with a shocking and devastating loss, and how she found the energy to pick herself back up afterward. With humor and honesty, she says readers what it used to get back on her feet-the rituals, relationships, and reading that got her through, and what the experience has taught her about life. She spoke about the hurdles of being a strong lady in the common eye, the critique over her voice, age, and appearance, and the double standard confronting women in politics.She lays out how the 2016 election was characterized by an unprecedented assault on our democracy by a foreign adversary. By examining the data and joining the dots, Hillary shows just how vulnerable the forces are that shaped the outcome, and why Americans need to understand them to protect our values and our democracy in the future.The election of 2016 was unprecedented and historic. What Followed is the story of that campaign and its outcome-both a deeply private account and a cautionary tale for the nation.
