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The Truths We
Hold: An American Journey
by Kamala Harris
c.2020, Penguin Books
$18.00 paperback
336 pages
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Truth Contributor
It starts early-on.
At first, it seems
spontaneous: parents who enjoy their interests naturally
display those passions to small children who are dragged
along for the ride. The child observes and absorbs until one
day, parental interest becomes child's obsession. And in
The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris, that's how a
politician is made. |
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Supporters can almost see
the trajectory in the history: Kamala Harris's parents, both
highly educated immigrants, instilled a sense of
independence in their daughter and both remained supportive
of her choices, even as they divorced. Harris's mother,
especially, gave Harris lessons in strength and activism
through an upper-middle-class childhood with ballet and
piano lessons alongside marches and protests.
Says Harris of her mother,
a breast cancer researcher, "... she was determined to make
sure we [Harris and her sister] would grow into confident,
proud black women."
Harris describes her
community – the women and men who helped raise and educate
her – with obvious affection, saying that "the seed was
planted very early on," and she knew that she wanted to be a
lawyer and to make a difference in the lives of others.
"When activists came
marching and banging on the doors," she says, "I wanted to
be on the other side to let them in."
By the time Harris had
finished law school, her sights were set on working "for the
people." She focused on the prosecution of child molesters,
sexual predators, and rapists. On her way up the career
ladder, she continued to advocate for the poor, for women
and children, and for the rights of LGBTQ people and
immigrants. She worked for the reduction of recidivism, for
Americans in need of health care, and for consumers and
homeowners.
Says Harris, "In the years
to come with all the challenges to come, we cannot lose
sight of who we are and who we can be."
As biographies by famous
people go, The Truths We Hold is a refreshing
surprise, in that there's very little look-at-me
name-dropping. Author and vice presidential candidate Kamala
Harris mentions people because of work or family ties, not
to impress. Remarkably, she also writes of her friendship
with Beau Biden.
The other interesting
thing about this memoir is that readers will not see
laid-out plans for the future: remember, this book was
likely written at least two years ago and Harris presumably
had no crystal ball. Instead of plainly-stated plans, what
she offers "is a collection of ideas and viewpoints and
stories..." Readers are left to see passions between the
lines, and can draw their own conclusions.
Aside from this, there's
plenty of biography which, again, is not filled with
esoteric names-and-dates but with things that are relevant
to the story of who Harris is and how she sees this country.
That makes The Truths We Hold easy to read, if not a
bit long in the achievement department, but not
uninteresting. If you'd like to know more about the woman
who may sit in the Vice President's chair next January, read
it now, while it's early-on.
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