Stronger: Courage, Hope, and Humor In My Life With John McCain

by Cindy Mccain

The widow of Senator John McCain opens up about her beloved husband, their thirty-eight-year marriage, and the trials and triumphs of a singular American life.

My husband, John McCain, never viewed himself as larger than life—but he was. He had more tenacity and resolve than anybody I ever met. Being with him didn’t hold me back—it gave me flight, a courage I never would have felt on my own.

Cindy Hensley was just out of college when she met and fell in love with the celebrated Navy hero John McCain. They embarked on a thrilling life together that put her at the center of American politics for over four decades. In this moving and inspiring memoir, Cindy McCain tells the story of her adventurous life with John for the first time.

Raising their four children in Arizona while John flourished as a six-term senator in Washington, D.C., Cindy brought her own flair to the role of political wife. She eagerly supported John’s career even as she tried hard to stay out of the spotlight and maintain her own health and well-being. She is honest in revealing her own successes and missteps, discussing how she dealt with political attacks targeting her children, her battle with opioid addiction, and the wild whirl of campaigning for president.

As they built their life together, Cindy and John continued the multi-generation McCain tradition of service to country. With both immense pride and deep worry, she sent two sons off to active duty in the military. She describes her own brave efforts bringing medical support to countries in crisis and empowering women in Africa and around the world. And she reveals her feelings about the tumultuous effects of the Trump presidency on the military.

Most important, this book shares how John’s humor and strength helped Cindy grow into the confident woman she is now. More than a political story, Stronger is the unforgettable journey of one woman who believes in family, honor, and country—and is willing to stand up for all of them.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Politics, Autobiography, Biography, Family, Audiobook

272 pages, Hardcover

Published April 27, 2021

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came away from this book impressed with the dignity and courage of the McCain family. Cindy reveals such grace and dignity that is almost old fashion. The book starts with the death of John McCain and then proceeds to tell the story of Cindy and her marriage to John McCain. If you enjoy memoirs, you will find this one a must read.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is nine hours and twenty-one minutes. Cindy McCain does a good job narrating the book.

[Bernadette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a liberal Democrat and enjoyed reading Cindy McCain's book written after the death of her husband, the late Republican senator from Arizona John McCain, known for his "across the aisle" style of politics. It is Cindy's chance to set things straight about what she considers some false impressions about her and most importantly to strengthen her husband's legacy. She speaks out against former Pres. Trump for his cruel, unfounded personal attacks on Senator McCain that continued even after the senator's death. Cindy says she learned courage at the side of her husband, whose international political views and understanding were valued in the US and abroad. His civility, integrity and dedication to serve his country in the military and in government are qualities she highlights in the book. Her personal story includes a battle with opioid addiction, recovery from a stroke at age 50 and numerous other health scares. In the political press, Cindy was labeled the "beer heiress," due to her father's wealth from a major beer distributorship business he built from the ground up. Cindy may be wealthy (she continues to lead the family business) but she is also extremely generous and, like her husband, committed to doing something for good with her fortune. I was unaware of her extensive in-person humanitarian work overseas, supporting education and political power for women in developing nations, medical care for refugees and helping to deter human trafficking. A primary message in the book encourages readers to get involved with something they're passionate about and no matter how big or small the actions, to leave your family, your community, your country a better place. A heartfelt, inspiring memoir.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

John McCain was a man I admired for his service and for his ability to reach across the aisle. My greatest disappointment was when he selected a running mate who was as bad as the recent administration.

This book was enjoyable, eye opening, and told touching memories of his and Cindy’s life. I did not know anything about her life, health issues, or how strong she is.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the writing, tone and message of civility, dignity and honor. Stronger is a poignant and thought-provoking book. Thanks to Cindy McCain for carrying on the legacy of a great man by creating a path of her own.

[Mary Sisney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Cindy’s strategy of starting with a brief description of her husband’s death and funeral and then providing a more detailed description near the end of the book. I suspect many readers were more sympathetic to her when they reached the detailed description. Because of her Hitchcock blonde looks and her less charismatic than her husband and daughter demeanor, some readers probably liked her less than they did them. But I actually preferred Cindy to her daughter and liked her almost as much as I did her husband. I prefer that spouses and children of politicians and other celebrities be quieter and not try to grab the spotlight like too many fame-adjacent coattailers (looking at you, Meghan) do. Initially, as I read her memoir, I liked Cindy even more. I didn’t know that she had been a substitute teacher and had forgotten about her health struggles—a stroke, opioid addiction. I was aware that she (not her husband) was the one who wanted to adopt her dark-skinned daughter and that she worked on humanitarian issues in African and other so-called third world countries but appreciated learning more about her efforts. I also liked the way she handled gossip. She dissed a few people like Nancy Reagan, who was mean to her, but generally was classy, even when discussing the fame-hungry, obnoxious Sarah Palin. Interestingly, she participated in events with Sarah’s husband Todd in 2008 and liked him. I was a bit disappointed that she didn’t remember (the stroke and probably the opioids caused some memory problems) being on a panel of potential First Ladies hosted by then California First Lady Maria Shriver, claiming that she met Michelle Obama, who was at that October, 2007 event, at the first 2008 debate, because I was hoping to read her opinion of Ann Romney and Elizabeth Edwards. But it was another comment about Michelle that turned me against Cindy and made me less sympathetic to her when I read the more detailed description of the events surrounding her husband’s death. I was annoyed with her when she took a shot at Michelle’s much criticized 2008 comment about being proud of America for the first time in her adult life after her husband won Iowa. Cindy’s nasty jab about always being proud of America reminded me at the time how gracious Laura Bush had been when Teresa Kerry had mistakenly claimed (in 2004) that she didn’t work (Laura had been a librarian). I assumed Cindy would regret that comment if she mentioned it in the memoir, but instead she doubled down on it. Even if her book was completed before the so-called racial awakening last summer, it’s beyond tone deaf for a rich white woman not to realize why her born in the (at best) low middle-class black counterpart would have a different experience of America. Even after she saw how Michelle and her husband were treated by white supremacists, including being called apes, even after she saw the majority of white people, including white women (possibly including Cindy), vote for an insane, incompetent white supremacist instead of a sane, competent white woman in 2016, she still thinks we black folks should be proud of America? Everything she said and did after that passage looked suspicious, and I could barely stand her as I read. The trip to Congo with white supremacist Lindsey Graham looked like she was trolling Obama the way the foreign First Lady Melania may have been trolling him (or maybe her husband or both) with her solo trip to Kenya. She and Lindsey were helping the Africans when a man whose paternal family members were actually African wasn’t. When she pointed out the irony of her trying to promote women leaders in Africa while “we” had never voted for a woman President, I said out loud, “What do you mean, “we’”? White folks keep forgetting that they aren’t the only Americans. The majority of people of color voted for Hillary, and the overwhelming majority of women who look like Michelle and me voted for her. But then, as he has done so often for saner, less corrupt and racist white folks, Trump saved Cindy so that I was sympathetic to her again at the end of the book. When she wrote about his petty attacks on her dead husband and how they had to hide the name of the ship named after him, his father, and his grandfather, so Big Baby Trump wouldn’t have a fit, I was totally on her side. I had never thought about the fact that her two sons had as their Commander in Chief a man who had claimed their father was not a hero while he was still alive and continued to attack him after he was dead. Cindy admired the Africans for their ability to forgive. I think that’s an overrated trait in black folks. I think we should forgive less. I wouldn’t have been as quietly dignified as Cindy was during those horrible days when her dead husband was being attacked by an insane draft dodger. I would have behaved more like her daughter Meghan. But Cindy’s son John McCain IV produced some great karma by marrying a beautiful black woman and naming his first-born son John McCain V. That’s right; the war hero’s grandson is half black, just like Obama (actually, he’s probably no more than 30% black since blacks whose ancestors were slaves are part white). Has anyone told white supremacist Trump? I hope that as she enjoys her three cute grandbabies and interacts with her beautiful, black daughter-in-law Cindy McCain will learn to appreciate why Michelle Obama’s 2008 comment was appropriate and, in fact, optimistic and gracious.

[Zibby Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "Stronger," the author is honest in revealing things about her life we didn't know: her successes and missteps, how she dealt with political attacks on her family, her battle with opioid addiction, and the tumultuous time when her husband (John McCain) campaigned for president.

I loved reading about her relationship with her husband and her life parenting, the adoption of her daughter, and her personal struggles. I was especially interested in the Bangladeshi orphanage story and then how the campaign used her daughter. As a mother of four, my heart was hurting. The whole book was chocked full of lessons at the end of every chapter. I didn't know about opioid addiction until I read the book, but I thought it was so brave how she wrote about her experience and was so open about the challenges she faced.

To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://zibbyowens.com/transcript/cin...

[Stanjay Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I found John McCain to be a man of honor and service when he was here on earth. I admired his service in the navy, his strength during the years when he was a prisoner of war, and his bipartisanship with colleagues in the senate where it truly mattered. I watched his funeral and marveled at republicans, independents, and democrats paying respect to his life of service. Prior to reading this book, I didn’t know much about Cindy McCain; however, I leaned so much about her from this book. Everything from her college years, her family’s beer business, her courtship and marriage to John, motherhood, her humanitarian work in Africa, her personal thoughts about the state of politics and her family’s legacy of service to the country. While I didn’t always agree with her and John concerning certain things, I respect them as leaders and appreciated Cindy’s transparency in this book.

[Deborah Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say I am impressed with her as I always was with her husband. She portrayed her life with John McCain as honestly as she could without getting into the more personal aspects of their life together. I am sure there were some pretty rough times that she brushed over. She seemed to be open about her emotions during his illness and his death. As devastated as she was by his death there was more to her life than her grief. She never allowed it to swallow her. I identify with that, recently losing my husband. As much as I liked the book and her portrayal of her family and her husband, there was this faint air of elitism at times. Very faint but there. I just never saw that from him.

[Pearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It’s gratifying to be one-half of a partnership and have your life fully intertwined with the
person you love. But there’s a yearning to be an independent person in your own right too.”
This sentence from Cindy McCain’s memoir perfectly expresses what Cindy McCain’s book is about.

It’s very seldom that I read a memoir or biography by or about a woman in politics who is also a Republican. The only one that comes immediately to mind is one about Laura Bush. I read two, in fact, about Laura Bush: one a novel, clearly a fictional account of her life (American Wife) by Curtis Sittenfeld and one a biography (The Perfect Wife) by “Washington Post” reporter Ann Gerhart. The novel and the biography didn’t differ much on the outline, or even the details, of Laura Bush’s life; but Sittenfeld departs from fact to imagine the Laura Bush we Democrats wondered if Mrs. Bush secretly was/is – i.e. a closet liberal. Gerhart’s biography reveals that Laura Bush is exactly what she appears to be – i.e. she’s not a secret liberal.

It would be difficult to imagine that Cindy McCain is/was other than what she appears to be. She’s much more outspoken than Laura Bush, which is not to say that she’s not circumspect. But her activism in public causes and her travels around the world on humanitarian missions as well as her many campaign appearances on behalf of her husband make her life and her views less subject to speculation than the more demure Laura Bush.

I think Cindy McCain first came into my consciousness during John McCain’s first run for President. I liked her immediately. So poised and so well put together and very attractive, and quite forthright, she gave every appearance of being a self-assured woman. Her memoir did not disabuse me of that first impression. Of course she writes about some insecurities she felt as a political wife – an outsider in Washington – but they didn’t stop or limit what she set out to do. There were no big reveals in her memoir. After all both she and her husband had been in the public eye for a long time and, with two Presidential runs by her husband, their lives had been well scrutinized and written about. It’s the smaller details about their day-to-day relationship with each other, with family, and with their friends, political and otherwise, that were new and telling and interesting.

Her memoir covers when she and John first met and lied to each other to disguise their 18-year age difference, a little about her parents (very wealthy), John’s various political campaigns for Congress, the Senate, and the Presidency, and the scandal of the Keating 5 (John was eventually exonerated). She’s frank about her addiction to painkillers and her stroke in her fifties and about her reluctance to have her husband try a second time to become President. But there’s never any doubt that she would support what John wanted. Or that he would support what she wanted. She also takes us through the nasty attack that the Bush campaign (Karl Rove, she's sure) made on their adopted daughter from Bangladesh, through John’s cancer diagnosis, his final year, and her humanitarian work. She portrays their marriage as a true partnership and I have no reason to doubt it. He comes off exceedingly well in her book. Maybe too well. She variously refers to him as a great man, a tenacious one, a man of courage, of integrity, highly intelligent, always the best informed man in the room, beloved by everyone (well, she does admit that he wasn’t loved by Trump), respected by all, had the best values, held no grudges, a wonderful father, the life of the party, and so on. Some of her other descriptions of him:
• “deep knowledge of the issues”
• “his forthrightness shimmered through”
• “he could simply walk into a room and people would be in his orbit”
• “understood international relations better than anyone I knew”
• “people around the world listened to him”
• “one of the most patriotic and honorable man of his generation”
• “larger than life”

Some of those qualities are certainly true and perhaps all of them to a greater or lesser extent, but chapter after chapter you wonder if this is part and parcel of Nancy Reagan’s adoring gaze. (We’ll get to Nancy Reagan later.) She does admit John wasn’t always even tempered, although he never got angry with her, she says. (Query: wasn’t he next to last in his graduating class at West Point? Didn’t we often see him be quite waspish with his colleagues and with the press? Didn’t he seem to hold a grudge against President Obama for a while?) All that aside, there was a great deal to be admired in John McCain and also in Cindy McCain. A “steel magnolia;” maybe strike the magnolia.

When John first got to Congress, the McCains with all the newly elected Republican members of the House were invited to a White House dinner. Cindy was excited to be seated at Nancy Reagan’s table but says Nancy looked her up and down and offered only chilly replies to her attempt at conversation. At some point someone turned to Cindy to say how exciting it must be to be part of Congress for the first time. As she was about to answer, Cindy writes, Mrs. Reagan jumped in to say, ”She’s not the one who won . . . Her husband did.” Cindy later understood that Nancy had known and liked John’s first wife; however she didn’t understand why Nancy, a second wife herself, felt so hostile.

She also gives us some insight on the John McCain-Joe Biden relationship. I think when Cindy endorsed Biden for President we all assumed it was because Trump had been so rude to her husband and so dismissive of his military service. No doubt that’s part of it, but she also tells us that when she and John first got to Washington Joe and Jill Biden were the first couple to invite them to their home. They discovered they liked each other and a lasting friendship developed.

She reveals that her choice for John’s running mate as Vice President was not Sarah Palin but Joe Lieberman. Politicos advised against it; the rest is history. John always made a big point out of being bipartisan, and Cindy writes about many of their Democratic friends whom they worked with on various issues or causes: Mo Udall, Warren Beatty, Ben Affleck, Amy Klobuchar, and Heidi Hietkamp among them. Invariably, though, she seems to find it necessary to add that although they could work together on issues they all cared about, she and/or John didn’t agree with their solutions. In one discussion she tells us she didn’t/doesn’t like Obamacare, but she never says why. At another point she explains that John’s dramatic thumbs down vote against the Republican measure to repeal Obamacare was John’s principled decision that he could not vote to repeal it without a replacement measure guaranteed: he would not leave millions without healthcare. Again, that may well be true; but I remember his words after that vote – “regular order.” He did not approve of Republicans circumventing the normal procedures of the Senate. She may have become a disillusioned Republican but she remains a deeply rooted one.

I found only one point in Cindy McCain’s book somewhat puzzling. When Michelle Obama, on the campaign trail remarked, “For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country,” Cindy says she couldn’t let that pass. She goes on to explain that she’s always been proud of her country, told the press that, and that the remark still bothers her. I thought it strange that she can’t seem to appreciate that Michelle’s experience of growing up as a black person in financially restricted circumstances was much different than her own experience of growing up as a very privileged, very affluent white person. Although she never flaunts her wealth, so many of the incidents she relates make it clear how that wealth eased the way for her.

Before John died they discussed what they wanted their legacy to be. There is now a John McCain Institute for International Leadership, with headquarters at the University of Arizona, which promotes the civic and humanitarian causes they both were committed to. Cindy’s special commitments are to ending hunger and human trafficking, areas in which she has done much work. A post script too late to be in her book is that President Biden is appointing her to be the U.S. Representative to UN Agencies for Food & Agriculture. She has many credentials for that post.

I always thought John McCain was a bit mercurial but over all admired much about him. I always liked Cindy McCain but, as I got to know more about her work in humanitarian causes through this book and other ways she conducted herself, my liking turned into admiration. This was an easy book to read – a rather breezy style, and I don’t mean that disrespectfully. She writes about some very difficult times, but there’s a lightness of touch. I’d guess she had a good ghost writer. Not that I think she wouldn’t be a good writer herself but there’s a real professional writer sense in the style and organization of this book.

[Chris Carson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific read, terrific statesman and remarkable life partner. The stories will make you laugh, give thanks, and cry. Thank you, Cindy McCain for sharing your life with Senator McCain (an American hero), with US.

[Valerie O'loughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poignant biography that provides insight into Cindy and John McCain's life together. I appreciated her call for bipartisan leadership and a return to the days when Republicans and Democrats worked together. I've always admired John McCain, and now I admire him even more. I was not aware of how active Cindy McCain was in a variety of humanitarian efforts. Keep fighting the good fight!!

[Irishcoda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew a little bit about the late Senator John McCain from his Presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2008. I was grateful for his service in the Navy and admired his courage as a tortured POW during the Viet Nam war. I was especially impressed that being given a chance to be freed, thanks to the influences of his Naval admiral father, he refused and chose to stay with the other POWs. I read in the papers that he was considered a “maverick”, independent minded and sometimes going against his political party.

One of my ebook lists offered Stronger: Courage, Hope & Humor In My Life With John McCain by his widow, Cindy McCain. I was intrigued and wanted to learn more about Senator McCain so I looked to see if the book was available from my library. Happily, it was and I soon began to read it.
I may not have agreed with some of their politics, but I found much to be admired in both John and Cindy McCain. He was a hero, through and through. He followed “the golden rule” in so many ways. Most of all, he wanted partisan cooperation in Congress and throughout his career in the Senate, he worked with colleagues across the aisle over and over. He had a code of honor and followed it to a “T”.

Cindy McCain begins their love story on the occasion they first met. Throughout their marriage, she was a staunch supporter even when she was ill and in crisis. She is a fiercely protective mother and grandmother, but that’s not all. While Senator McCain was either at Congress or even while campaigning in 2008, she was traveling to poverty stricken countries around the world. She founded an organization of doctors and medical personnel that would travel with her. For example, she went to the Congo several times. Once she took other senators with her so that they could see what was happening and introduce bills to help those countries. After the death of her beloved husband, she went on to fight against human trafficking.

Cindy McCain was devastated by the death of her husband. An even crueler blow was the onslaught of John McCain bashing that occurred from one person. Still, she endured and grew and that’s why I admire both McCains very much.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this current atmosphere of divisive political beliefs which can often provoke violence or inspire to create union, this book provided insight. I often thought that the American two party system was a basic problem because the voter was either for or against most policies. Cindy McCain gave life to the possibility of thinking outside our own viewpoint as John McCain was often able to reach across the aisle to listen to and strategize with someone other than his party members. Residing in Phoenix myself, I have watched and listened to the opinions and policies of Senator McCain, not always agreeing but being aware of his viewpoint. My take away from the book rests in the facts that being a political representative comes with much unwarranted criticism, a family lifestyle preciously protected and a global view to endure. Cindy McCain provided a healthy, loving, trusting home for her family. She believed in her husband's work ethic and encouraged his ability to govern. At the same time, she expanded her own horizons, gave so much time and effort to benifit causes that she believed in and together she and John proved successful. Understanding that much of their way of life and positive response to action was based on a solid monetary base, they always continued to share their good fortune with those that earned their trust. It seemd that both Cindy and John just loved life.

[Matthew LaPine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reverential portrait of John McCain as patriot, loyal American, committed to country above all else. There are many things about Senator McCain that I didn't know and was touched to learn in this book, including his friendships with people of all stripes, his incredible energy, his physical challenges, and more.

Yet we also see that the McCains were/are rich and powerful, owning several properties, frequently vacationing in exotic destinations, never mind being the sole owners of a business with hundreds of millions in annual revenue. The author openly relates an incident where she threatens to move insurance coverage for her 1,500 employees if she doesn't get her way on a prescription claim.

The stories about Senator McCain are touching and heartfelt. But it's hard to stay engaged when they're coming from someone born with a silver spoon and who reminds you of it throughout. I read this book to get a better perspective on why the author was censured by the AZ Republican party. It does provide some insight on that, which was helpful.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an inspiring book. In her memoir, Cindy McCain tells it like it is. A Republican herself, while married to a politically influential Republican, John McCain, her life was quite an adventure of ups and downs. Now, as his widow, she continues to be an influential woman. In these pages she readily criticizes what has been happening to the Republican party. She speaks about the slander she and her family endured before and after John's death. Although I am not a Republican, her words to spoke to me. She writes of her life as a loving and supportive wife, mother, campaigner, and woman of action. She has had her own personal issues to deal with, such as addiction and a stroke. How she, John, and her family dealt with John's impending death is truly a model for all of us who would find ourselves in that situation. I would love to have her as a guest, with a small select group of others, at my dinner table to learn more about her views and her work as a woman of means who gives so much back, especially to the needy children of the world.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this audio book, narrated by Cindy McCain. I didn't know much about Cindy McCain before reading this book, but I am impressed after reading this memoir.

Apparently her motivation in writing the memoir was highlighting & strengthening John McCain's legacy.

Her own personal story includes a battle with opioid addiction, recovery from a stroke at age 50 and numerous other health scares. In the political press, Cindy was labeled the "beer heiress' due to her father's wealth from a major beer distributorship, but he actually built that himself, from his own modest beginnings. She was the first in her family to graduate from college. Although she is wealthy, I was impressed by her extremely generous and humanitarian efforts: supporting education and political power for women in developing nations, providing means to medical care for refugees and helping to deter human trafficking. A good read.

[K Kolstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cindy Mccain holds a grudge, and I kind of like that about her. Politics is a dirty business and even those one supports has staff who make poor choices 'fighting' for their candidate. Mccain makes no allowances and never forgets!
The thing about the quiet, adoring, political spouse is that you have nothing to judge but their exterior and no idea what they've endured, how they've argued a position in private or where their positions and their partner's diverge. This isn't a full biography; there is no nostalgic look at childhood or long discussion of her family. It is a loving memoire of her marriage and offers insight to her medical struggles, volunteer efforts, and the strain of modern politics and press intrusions into her family. The reader may not find any big surprises here, but they'll see the love and compassion, loyalty and struggles of a family lead by a prominent political person.

[Nancy Retson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an Arizona Democrat I voted for and was proud to have Senator John McCain represent us. What I didn’t know was how proud and grateful I should have been to have Cindy McCain working behind the scenes. “Stronger” reveals life as a political spouse in good times and challenging moments. A far cry from the puff piece I expected, a tough and very human woman, this McCain frankly recounts stories of her public and private life. While we celebrate First Ladies in a big way, this Senator’s First Partner did and does a lot of unheralded very heavy lifting.
Rich in adventure and love throughout, I found the book to be eye opening, fast paced and engaging.

[Dr. Lillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened as audiobook, narrated by Cindy McCain. I didn’t know much about Cindy prior to reading this book. Initially I expected something different from her memoir, and learning more of her background it became evident how deeply involved she was throughout John McCain’s political career. Her vulnerability in sharing some of her toughest moments, including John’s death, her opioid addiction (and overcoming it), and some aspects of campaigning, was truly enlightening. Her description of her humanitarian efforts was inspiring. Although so much of her adulthood experiences were tied to her marriage and John’s career, Cindy’s memoir demonstrates she was (and continues to be) so much more.

[Monica Montalti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely read non-fiction; the title is what grabbed me. I came away with a lot of respect for Cindy McCain. And I was reading. I found myself putting tabs on certain passages. Some of the things that touch me was her dedication to causes her complete sense of family and devotion to her marriage and her children. She’s not afraid to address How women are viewed and the importance of speaking up and what was most touching or her comments about forgiveness on the other hand. Occasionally, I think she contradicts herself because there are several individuals whom she has very strong opinions about, and perhaps the forgiveness has not been offered to these individuals.

[Lucinda Vinoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always admired John McCain and felt he was one of those great men that we learned about in history class. Cindy was a great partner for this man. She loved him and understood him well. I could feel her pride and her pain in this memoir. May God comfort her in her grief and direct her efforts in ways to change the world for a better place, just as her beloved husband did.

I was required by Scottdale, Pa library to read a book about a senator for a reading challenge, this book came out just in time and was an excellent choice.

Libraries can lead one to such enriching reads!

[William Howle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very moving story of her life with John McCain. I have always had the highest respect for John McCain and when he was running for President, I had a cap that said “Navy veteran for McCain”. I believe if he had been elected, we would not be in the situation we are in today. I find it difficult to support anyone who would disparage him. The choice of VP running mate probably doomed his candidacy. The news media would take anything negative and run with it! Joe Lieberman would have been a much better choice.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting, well written, very personal account into the family life and challenges of a career politician. John McCain was a will known, well respected, honorable man with a calling to public service. Cindy McCain supported her husband, raised 5 children and devoted her 'spare' time to humanitarian work. I was especially impressed with her work in trying to stop child sex trafficking.

[Sharon K F · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cindy McCain is John McCain's second wife. The book basically starts with her life with him, for obvious reasons. Although I was surprised to find that I disagreed with her on many issues, I enjoyed reading the book and learning about their lives.

She was no ordinary pretty face, but a woman who took on major causes, not on name only, but doing the legwork to get donations and traveling to uncomfortable places to see them delivered and to help.

[Adele Verkamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author and narrator, Cindy McCain, clearly focused on honoring John McCain, an indisputable hero and public servant who loved his country. While honest in recognizing the difficulties both of them had as human beings, one will especially become aware of her devotion to making life better for those who have suffered and in need of help. As narrator, her soothing voice was an asset as the listener grasped her true and honest feelings about her marriage, her family and her growth.

[RICHARD WIARDA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

Living in AZ I had seen & heard alot about ms. McCain and had formed a somewhat poor view of her and her lifestyle . Reading this book has been informative in many ways and reveals Cindy as a much more likeable personality and a strong, impressive & humble indivual . definitely an equal and of course .. So supportive & loyal to her husband .. The great one .. John Mc Cain .

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve long admired John McCain, voting for him in 2008 even though I have now become a proud Democrat, and I don’t regret that vote at all. I came to be impressed by Cindy, as well, especially in all the coverage surrounding his funeral. When I saw her plugging this book, I immediately added it to my “to be read” list and I’m glad I did. She is a great storyteller and this was book was readable, engaging, warm, funny, emotional, and ultimately hopeful.

[Kat Perron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read but interesting. She presents not only a portrait of John McCain but life as a politician's wife, mom and business woman. The story is straightforward and emotional at times. A long time ago, a former professor cautioned that a person should try to learn all sides of a story. This story provides one side that might otherwise not be presented and I appreciated it.

[Suzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

She is impressive and seems to speak her mind. she knows herstuff before she speaks. Not a Sarah Palin or Trump supporter and she has reasoned reasons. Trump's attacks on her family need to be kept in the public mind. I learned more about human trafficking than I wanted to but I needed to. Quick read but sad. And brave.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cindy McCain certainly is not a fan of Donald Trump....and she readily explains why in this book. She also writes about the challenges of political campaigns, a press that assumes the truth rather than looking for it and what it's like to see someone through their last days on this earth. Certainly a book you should read if you're interested in today's history.