A Promised Land

Obama began his memoir shortly after his presidency ended, during a Hawaiian vacation with his family. His goals are to give an honest account of his time in office, offer readers a sense of what it is like to be POTUS, shed light on how the federal government functions, and inspire young people considering a career in public service. Obama explains that his memoir is long and not strictly linear because it includes a lot of background information. The current state of the country in 2020—including the COVID-19 pandemic, the current economic crisis, the attacks on American democracy, and the growing vitriol between Republicans and Democrats—only inflected his writing and colored his understanding of the past. Despite the current climate, however, Obama is hopeful about the future of the country. He believes in the possibilities afforded by an interconnected world, where people live together, cooperate with one another, and recognize each other’s dignity. The world’s eyes are on the American democratic experiment. The jury is still out, but Obama remains confident that future generations can achieve a more perfect union.