Former First Lady Speaks At PX Of Life In White House
(July 6, 2010) | 
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Former First Lady Laura Bush signs copies of her autobiography, "Spoken from the Heart" at Fort Hood's Clear Creek Post Exchange June 27 as part of a signing tour for her new book which was released in May. The book discusses Bush's upbringing in a small Texas town and her subsequent time living in the White House while her husband served as the president of the United States.
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FORT HOOD, Texas (ANS - June 30, 2010) -- Former first lady Laura Bush
visited the Clear Creek Post Exchange here for a few hours Sunday to meet
Soldiers, retirees, civilians and Family members while signing copies of her
new autobiography, "Spoken from the Heart."
Bush said she knew from the time she stepped into the White House with her
husband, former President George W. Bush, she would be expected to someday
publish an account of her time there.
Serving as a wife and mother, she also took on the added roles as an
ambassador for the United States and the spokesperson for a number of causes
including literacy, education and women's equality. Bush also described
growing up in small town Midland, Texas, and her life before serving as the
first lady of Texas and, later, the United States.
Bush said she thought her autobiography was best written in a very candid
and open way. |
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"It gave me the chance to tell people what I think and what my life was like
in a very personal way," she explained.
To make the reading experience more meaningful and personal, Bush didn't
avoid discussing any topics in her writing. She wrote about the car accident
she caused in high school which killed a close friend, losing her father
slowly to Alzheimer's disease and how Sept. 11, 2001 and the subsequent
Global War on Terrorism affected the country and those within the walls of
the White House.
"I wanted to remind people what Sept. 11 was like so we can keep people
thinking ... of why it's important for the U.S. and Americans to support our
troops," Bush said. "I wanted to invoke the feelings of 9-11 and remind
people what it was like and why we're (still) in Afghanistan and Iraq."
The deepest feelings Bush described in her book are what helps the public
connect with her through her words. She said she frequently receives letters
from people wanting to share their stories of losing a parent, those who've
had trouble conceiving or those who were affected by a vehicle accident.
Sgt. Patrick McCombs, with the 664th Ordnance Company, 4th Sustainment
Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), said he enjoyed reading
the book because many of Bush's stories about her parents reminded him of
his own.
The Fort Hood book signing was an opportunity for Bush to see some of the
servicemembers and Families to whom she and her husband dedicated many
prayers, condolences and heartfelt thanks, she said.
Bush said even though her father served during World War II, it wasn't until
her husband was working side-by-side with military every day that she really
learned how much military members contribute to the American fabric.
"The military became part of our life every day, every single day," she
explained.
As the commander in chief of America's armed forces, President Bush was
responsible for determining the military's missions and ensuring
servicemembers' well-being.
"George did not want war. No president ever does," the former first lady
wrote in her autobiography. "He knew how precious any child is, and every
person sent to war is someone's child and often someone's mother and father
too."
The feeling that comes with sending Soldiers to war and the gravity of those
choices were concepts that kept the president up late at night, just
thinking, Bush wrote in the portion of her book that described the early
days in Afghanistan and, later, in Iraq.
Bush said she "wants our troops now to know they're part of a history of
liberators."
An example of this sharing of freedom that's close to Bush's heart is the
progress made regarding women's equality and rights in the Middle East.
Without today's servicemembers, Afghan women couldn't be educators, young
girls couldn't go to school and Iraqi women wouldn't be business owners, she
noted.
While her husband was in office, Bush had one of the highest approval
ratings of any first lady. | |
Article and photo by Joy Pariante
Copyright 2010
Reprinted from
Army News Service
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