Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose

First edition cover
Author	Joe Biden
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Memoir
Publisher	Flatiron Books
Publication date	November 14, 2017
Pages	272
ISBN	978-1250171672
OCLC	1159856691
Preceded by	Promises to Keep

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Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose is a 2017 memoir by the 47th Vice President of the United States, and later 46th President, Joe Biden. It was first published by Flatiron Books.^[1]

Contents

Biden reflects on losing his eldest son Beau to brain cancer and the toll it took on him and his family. He describes his late son as having "all the best of me, but with the bugs and flaws engineered out."^[2] Biden also talks about the political implications his son's death had: his decision not to run for president in 2016 was in large part due to the grief he was still processing.^[3] He was further discouraged from running by Hillary Clinton's entry into the race and President Obama's implied preference that Biden not dilute her support in the primary elections.^[2]

The title of the book was inspired by a conversation Biden had with Beau after his cancer had progressed significantly. Coming to terms with his own mortality, Beau assured his father that no matter what happened, he would be okay. He then asked his father to promise the same in return.^[4]

Reception

Vanity Fair called the book "a brisk, often uplifting read, a consequence of its author’s congenital jollity and irrepressible candor."^[1]