Going Rogue, a review - Part I

I have just recently finished reading Sarah Palin's Going Rogue: An American Life.

And while I am certainly not at a loss for words, this book altered my perception of a woman so ridiculed in today's modern media, I find it hard to add my own opinion to the myriad of reviews. I will merely offer up that Sarah Palin surprised me, delighted me, and pulled quite a few tears. All within 413 pages.

Here are some of my favorite moments and a few thoughts.

In her first tellings of growing up in Alaska and life within the sports & outdoor-obsessed frontier family having evolution discusssions at the dinner table, Governor Palin is as reflective as she is narrative.

"Eventually, though, I realized that the road, and especially marathon training, holds invaluable life lessons. That to reach your goal you have to put in the tough, drudging miles. That the best rewards often lie on the other side of pain. And that when it seems you can't take another step forward, there is a hidden reservoir of strength you can draw on to endure and finish well" (27).

Simply stated, and likely oft-recognized within one's own heart on any of life's many paths- but rarely so elloquently described.

This is a woman who boldly states, "Everything I ever needed to know, I learned on the basketball court" (41). I love this and find truth in it, a county-league basketball player in my own youth.

Her wedding at a courthouse was witnessed by a few folks from the retirement home across the street and they topped it off with a Wendy's meal- hopefully including a Frosty! That is my idea of low-key. Perfect.

The beginning snipets provide an interesting take on her upbringing, early political views, and a personal glance at the state of Alaska which most of us in the "Lower 48" know little about. But perhaps what I enjoy most out of this book are the prayers she openly shares. This one, after a children's book inspired her:

"I wrote a contemplative prayer in my journal that summer that I recently came across. I had written: 'Let me not become disconnected from You, Lord. Like that red kite, let there be a connecting string between You and me, so that I can fly high and safe as You've created all people to do. With that string, I'll go where You want me to go. I'll be what You want me to be. Thank You for Your grace.' " (83)

Metaphorical, or some may say cheesy, I feel she is nothing short of Genuine.


to be continued...

I like Palin

I like Sarah Palin. Her latest steps have pundits predicting, but I appreciate that she's not letting it go to her head.

At the dinner, she said to much laughter that she liked her Washington hotel because “I came down from my hotel room and I could see the Russian Embassy”. Mrs Palin, who frequently lambasts the Washington media, said: “Sometimes you’ve just got to trust your instincts. And when you don’t, you end up in places like this.”

She added: “It’s good to be here, really, in front of this audience of leading journalists and intellectuals, or as I like to call it, a death panel.”

Mrs Palin could not resist a dig at Vice-President Joe Biden, her counterpart in last year’s election, who has thinning hair and who in the past has tried to slow down his balding by having hair transplants.

Mrs Palin, referring to Going Rogue, said that if the election had turned out differently, “I could be overseeing the signing of bailout cheques and Vice-President Biden could be on the road selling his book ‘Going Rogaine’.” Rogaine is a hair loss treatment.

Mrs Palin also joked that she had originally thought of entitling her book ‘How To Look Like a Million Bucks, For Only $150,000’. In one of the controversies surrounding her candidacy, the campaign spent at least $150,000 on her wardrobe.

Do I think she was ready for prime-time last year? Definitely not. Do I think she should be the front-runner for President? Not yet.

But I'm sure I'll read her book. And I find her charm, well, somewhat intoxicating. Perhaps because she is so threatening to liberals. Perhaps because she is such a strong woman, as Rachel Campos-Duffy so eloquently describes.

I'm most certainly not ashamed to say that Sarah Palin is a role model in many different ways.

We'll see what's to come.