Simon & Schuster announced last Friday that it will publish “TRUE GRETCH: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between” by Michigan governor and rising Democratic star Gretchen Whitmer on July 9. The book provides an honest, personal and funny account of her life and career, full of insights that guided her through a global pandemic, showdowns with high-profile bullies, and even a kidnapping and assassination plot.
When Whitmer was growing up, her grandmother Nino taught her that you can always find something good in other people. “Even the meanest person might have pretty eyes,” she would say. Nino’s words persuaded Whitmer to look for the good in any person or situation—just one of many colorful personal experiences that have shaped her political vision.
In this book, Whitmer reveals the principles and instincts that have shaped her career, from her early days as a lawyer and legislator and her 2018 election as governor of Michigan, to her actions leading her state through a series of unprecedented disasters.
Whitmer shares the lessons in resilience that steered her through some of the most challenging events in Michigan’s history, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, a 500-year flood, the rise of domestic terrorism, and the fight to protect reproductive rights.
Along the way, she tells stories about the outsize characters in her family, her lifelong clumsy streak, the wild comments she’s heard on the campaign trail, her self-deprecating social media campaigns (including her star turn as a talking potato with lipstick), and the slyly funny tactics she deploys to neutralize her opponents.
Said Whitmer, “In this moment, our world is thirsty for compassion, empathy, big ideas, and the grit to get shit done. No matter who you are, or what you hope to achieve, I hope this book will help you find the good and use it to make a difference. I’ll be doing the same alongside you.”
When Whitmer was growing up, her grandmother Nino taught her that you can always find something good in other people. “Even the meanest person might have pretty eyes,” she would say. Nino’s words persuaded Whitmer to look for the good in any person or situation—just one of many colorful personal experiences that have shaped her political vision.
In this book, Whitmer reveals the principles and instincts that have shaped her career, from her early days as a lawyer and legislator and her 2018 election as governor of Michigan, to her actions leading her state through a series of unprecedented disasters.
Whitmer shares the lessons in resilience that steered her through some of the most challenging events in Michigan’s history, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, a 500-year flood, the rise of domestic terrorism, and the fight to protect reproductive rights.
Along the way, she tells stories about the outsize characters in her family, her lifelong clumsy streak, the wild comments she’s heard on the campaign trail, her self-deprecating social media campaigns (including her star turn as a talking potato with lipstick), and the slyly funny tactics she deploys to neutralize her opponents.
Said Whitmer, “In this moment, our world is thirsty for compassion, empathy, big ideas, and the grit to get shit done. No matter who you are, or what you hope to achieve, I hope this book will help you find the good and use it to make a difference. I’ll be doing the same alongside you.”
