Bill Kerwin's Reviews > What Happened

This most personal and self-reflective of all Hillary Clinton’s books may not have taken a village to rear, but it did take half a squad: two speech writers (Dan Schwerin expository specialist, Megan Rooney narrative specialist), one researcher (Tony Carrk), and—of course—Hillary Clinton herself. But—wait a minute!—in the "Acknowledgments," right after Schwerin, Rooney, and Caark, comes a list of seven trusted advisers followed by another list of approximately ten dozen names of other people who also contributed their advice and insights. So I guess it did take a small village after all.

That’s Hillary for you. Scrupulous and precise (no anonymous ghost writers for her!), generous in her praise and acknowledgment, but so conscientious and exhaustive about every facet of her life and campaign that, after awhile, the eyes of even the most sympathetic acolyte must glaze over, the head of the most attentive reader begin to nod.

Yes, What Happened is quintessential Hillary. Which is why this “personal, self-reflective memoir” is 469 pages long (that is, if you don’t include the twenty page index).

Okay, just to let you know where I’m coming from: I voted for Bernie in the Ohio primary (as a DSA member for twenty years, I figured I owed him that much), but as soon as the last primary was over, I took off my very cool Shepard Fairey “Bernie” tee and exchanged it for a not-as-cool “Hillary” shirt. You see, I’ve always had a soft spot for Hillary. As a democratic socialist, I was of course frustrated with the way Bill and Hill moved the Dems to the right, but, since I’m almost as old as they are, I can remember how disheartening it was to be “clean for Gene” (McCarthy) and “on board for George” (McGovern), and then watch the Republicans win five out of six of the next presidential races. Sure, the Clintons' program was too centrist, detailed, and super-wonky for my taste, but at least they figured out how to win an election. Later, I sensed that, underneath the plate armor she donned against the attacks of the (very real) “vast right wing conspiracy” there was a woman who genuinely loved her husband and who cared for America’s least fortunate citizens, particularly its women and children. And when, in October of 2015, I watched all eleven hours of the Benghazi hearings (I’m retired now) and saw how seriously she kicked herself some Freedom Caucus butt, I began to look forward to the idea of President Hillary.

But back to the book. I’m sure it was a chore to write, and it is often a chore to read, what with the exhaustive lists of the people—the famous of course but also the humble (but exemplary)—she encountered on the campaign trail, her typical domestic routines (far too much information), and her extraordinarily specific plans for how President Hillary intended to make America better (I’m sorry, but you lost, and the detailed aspirations of a presidency which will never happen are best left to the specialists now). Moreover, even when the information Hillary and Co. gives us is worthwhile, it is often overly specific. For example, I was interested to learn that, in the wake of her loss, Hillary embraced the yogic practice of alternate nostril breathing; I did not, however, need to have this practice described to me in a paragraph of 150 words.

I have heard some say that Hillary is bitter and hateful in this book, but I did not find this to be true. She does have a few harsh words for Bernie (as well as some kind words too), but I think she is fair to him: his Santa-of-the-left routine did make her sound like a “spoilsport schoolmarm” and his attacks on her as the Candidate from Wall Street may well have hurt her in the general election. Her harshest comments, however, are reserved for the two people she sees—understandably—as most responsible for costing her the election (Comey and Putin), and for one other target, of which I heartily approve: Matt Lauer, the disgraced moderator of what was supposed to be a “Commander-in-Chief Forum,” who made it all about “but her emails!” once again. Trump? I detect no malice here: She treats him as a natural disaster, a four-year tornado that must be guarded against.

What are the best parts of the book? It is good on her emails, Russian involvement in the election, and the role of women in public life and politics, but it is even better when it tells a personal story or expresses a private sentiment about a particular event or person: the Commander-in-Chief Forum, the Final Debate Where Trump Looms, election night, Marian Wright Edelman, Dorothy Rodham, Bill Clinton.

My advice? Don’t read it if you’re a Hillary hater. But even if you’re not a hater, I’d advise you to skip a little, skim a lot. Life is too short for you to do as I did and read the whole darn thing through. But by all means dip into it, spend a little time with it, and you may find much here to interest you, more than a few things to anger you, and one or two things to make you cry.

I’ll end with one of my favorite parts, where Hillary talks about Bill and their marriage:

My marriage to Bill Clinton was the most consequential decision of my life. I said no the first two times he asked me. But the third time, I said yes. And I’d do it again.

I hesitated to say yes because I wasn’t quite prepared for marriage. I hadn’t figured out what I wanted my furture to be yet. And I knew that by marrying Bill, I would be running straight into a future far more momentous than any other I’d likely know. He was the most intense, brilliant, charismatic person I had ever met. He dreamt big. I, on the other hand, was practical and cautious. I knew that marrying him would be like hitching a ride on a comet. It took me a little while to get brave enough to take the leap….

We’ve certainly had dark days in our marriage. You know all about them—and please consider for a moment what it would be like for the whole world to know about the worst moments in your relationship. There were times that I was deeply unsure about whether our marriage could or should survive. But on those days, I asked myself the question that mattered most to me: Do I still love him? And can I still be in this marriage without becoming unrecognizable to myself—twisted by anger, resentment, or remoteness? The answers were always yes. So I kept going.