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The Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller

From President-Elect Joe Biden, Promise Me Dad is his deeply moving memoir about the year that would forever change both a family and a country.

“Biden splices a heartbreaking story with an election story and a foreign affairs story. And in so doing, he offers something for everyone, no matter which strand draws you in.”—The New York Times Book Review

In November 2014, thirteen members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a tradition they had been celebrating for the past forty years; it was the one constant in what had become a hectic, scrutinized, and overscheduled life. The Thanksgiving holiday was a much-needed respite, a time to connect, a time to reflect on what the year had brought, and what the future might hold. But this year felt different from all those that had come before. Joe and Jill Biden’s eldest son, Beau, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor fifteen months earlier, and his survival was uncertain. “Promise me, Dad,” Beau had told his father. “Give me your word that no matter what happens, you’re going to be all right.” Joe Biden gave him his word.

Promise Me Dad chronicles the year that followed, which would be the most momentous and challenging in Joe Biden’s extraordinary life and career. As vice president, Biden traveled more than a hundred thousand miles that year, across the world, dealing with crises in Ukraine, Central America, and Iraq. When a call came from New York, or Capitol Hill, or Kyiv, or Baghdad—“Joe, I need your help”—he responded. For twelve months, while Beau fought for and then lost his life, the vice president balanced the twin imperatives of living up to his responsibilities to his country and his responsibilities to his family. And never far away was the insistent and urgent question of whether he should seek the presidency in 2016.

The year brought real triumph and accomplishment, and wrenching pain. But even in the worst times, Biden was able to lean on the strength of his long, deep bonds with his family, on his faith, and on his deepening friendship with the man in the Oval Office, Barack Obama.

Writing with poignancy and immediacy, Joe Biden allows readers to feel the urgency of each moment, to experience the days when he felt unable to move forward as well as the days when he felt like he could not afford to stop.

This is a book written not just by the president, but by a father, grandfather, friend, and husband. Promise Me Dad is a story of how family and friendships sustain us and how hope, purpose, and action can guide us through the pain of personal loss into the light of a new future.

In the entertaining collection Laughing At Life: Tall Tales & Other Short Stories, author Mike Benn shares many of his amusing life experiences as he delves into "tough" questions, such as:

• Have you ever caught a duck-while fishing?
• When your children say jump, do you just ask how high?
• What happens when the doctor becomes the patient?
• How significant is that red flashing light on your car's instrument panel? Join Benn in his search for "the perfect stool", and experience his frustration after purchasing the latest state-of-the-art home cinema equipment to the envy of all his friends-and after six months, still not being able to get it to work. Laughing at Life takes you on a trip-sometimes more like a stumble-down memory lane, from Benn's childhood in Perth, Australia, to his present-day life in Israel. Encompassing subjects ranging from living in a household of females to the adventures of traveling, and from coping with modern technology to personal health issues, Laughing at Life draws you into the Benn's world, allowing you to view the humorous side of life's challenges that daily affect each and every one of us.