Former President Joe Biden will publish a memoir this fall, publisher Little, Brown and Company told The Associated Press.
“Promise Me, America,” which Biden says will touch upon everything from the economy to his decision to drop his bid for reelection, is scheduled to come out Nov. 17.
The timing of the book — two weeks after midterm elections in which Democrats seek to regain control of Congress — could raise concerns within his party. Many Democrats remain divided on Biden’s legacy and his ill-fated determination to seek a second term in the White House, and leaders hope to keep the fall campaign focused on the record of Republican President Donald Trump.
“’Promise Me, America’ is about the challenges we faced as a nation. It’s about the decisions I made and why I made them,” Biden said in a video statement accompanying Wednesday’s announcement. “Most of all, it’s about my faith in the promise of America.”
Reports of Biden’s book have circulated for more than a year, and the former president himself has referred to it during public remarks, appearing to suggest it would be released before November’s election.
Biden, who will turn 84 three days after the publication of “Promise Me, America,” has long presented himself as an upholder of standards and traditions; presidential memoirs are one of them. With a handful of exceptions, modern presidents since Harry Truman in the 1950s have published books about their White House years. Little, Brown declined to release financial details for ”Promise Me, America,” although presidents have usually reached deals worth at least seven figures.
The book’s title echoes a 2017 memoir by Biden, “Promise Me, Dad,” which centered on the death of his son, Beau Biden.
Vowing as a candidate to “restore the soul” of his country, Biden was sworn into office in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, breach on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters seeking to stop his certification as president.