Growing Up Biden

This family memoir by Joe Biden’s youngest sister, who was also his longtime campaign manager, is unusual in combining accounts of family life and of a politician’s campaign and governing experiences. Owens lived with Biden and took care of his sons after their mother and baby sister died in a car accident, so she has particular insight into Biden’s personal life and his devotion to family. Her book provides details about the tight-knit Biden family’s devotion to one another and their Catholic faith’s influence on their political philosophies. She sensitively covers the tragedies the Bidens faced and shows that they strengthened the already-tight bonds that helped them recover. Owens stresses that in the early years, it was exceptional for a woman to manage a U.S. Senate campaign, and she describes the sexism she faced throughout the years of being Biden’s campaign manager and reflects on what it means to be the first woman in U.S. history to have run a presidential campaign.