I have loved writing this book and know that it is a story of a life of privilege--privilege of every kind. If I didn't know it before, I certainly do now. No man, woman, or child ever had a better life.

Lisa Drew, my editor with Scribner's, passed a message to me after reading five chapters that said she would only allow me to use one "wonderful" a page and one "precious" a chapter. Later Jean Becket added "close friend" to that list. "Nobody has that many good and close friends," she said.

Not bad to have had a life that was filled with wonderful people and happenings, precious family, and many close friends. That's the life that first my family, and then for much longer, that wonderful, pre cious, close friend, George Bush, have given me and I'm grateful for it.

"A book of good gcacc and humor---written in style that, like the author hcrself is straightforward, unembellished, generous, good-hearted, and wise... A pleasure."   --The Washington Times

Barbara Bush endures as one of America's most popular First Ladies. She has won worldwide acclaim for her wit, compassion, and candor as both a presidential wife and mother. In this #1 New York Times best selling memoir, Mrs. Bush offers a heartfelt portrait of her life in and out of the White House, from her small-town schoolgirl days in Rye, New York, to her fateful union with George H.W. Bush, to her role as First Lady of the United States. Here, she writes candidly about:

her early years with George Bush in West Texas

the tragic death'of her young daughter

the world of Washington politics and the famous figures she's met

her role as the nation's leading literacy champion

her feelings about the Iran-Contra scandal, the Persian Gulf conflict, and the Cold War

the disappointment of the 1992 presidential campaign-- and the mixed blessing of regaining her private life

 ... and much more. Filled with entertaining anecdotes, dozens of per sonal photographs, and a healthy dose of humor, this memoir is as compelling and honest as the former First Lady herself.

Preface

Prologue

Growing Up

Love and War

Striking Out on Our Own

Robin

Oh, the Glamorous World of Politics

A Different World

The United Nations

Surviving Watergate

China

Keeping Secrets

Hitting the Campaign Trail

Around the World and Back

The Poet Laureate (Retired)

The 1988 Campaign

"Please Guide and Guard Us"

The First 100 Days

Whirlwind First Year

Flying Chain Saws

The Storm Before the Storm

Desert Storm

Of Cabbages and Queens

"Back & Forth and Ups & Downs"

The Campaign

"One Last Time"

A New Beginning

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D

Index