Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Bush Hager, daughters of the American president who started the Iraq War, are co-authoring a book to support women and end “divisiveness” in these troubling times. Okay.
Vanity Fair spoke with the twins about their decision to publish co-written personal essays about their experiences with nice Republicans. The book, Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life, is due out in October and was conceived during the terrible election season of 2016, when things got very unfriendly:
“It’s hard to think back to when politics were friendly,” says Jenna, the Today-show correspondent, who co-authored Sisters First, a collection of personal essays, with Barbara, the C.E.O. and co-founder of Global Health Corps, a nonprofit with a focus on international fellowships. “Right now everything seems so divisive,” says Barbara. “We wanted to change the single story that exists about a lot of the people we know, and show other, nuanced sides of them.”
The book will focus on their relationship as siblings and friends as they grew up in the White House spotlight. That so much of this “divisiveness” is because our current president is a member of their father’s party, is systematically destroying the lives of immigrants, trans people, all while vocally supporting white supremacists, doesn’t come up during their brief interview with VF, funnily enough. They do say they decided to write the book after election night because it “felt like the time was right to talk about women lifting each other up.” Okay, way to take a stand.
Neither sister is affiliated with a political party, and they say their personal beliefs don’t always align with their dad’s or their grand pap’s. Barbara Pierce Bush has supported Planned Parenthood in the past. For whatever reason, their shift away from their family’s agenda seems more sincere than some presidential daughters out there:
“I think it’s surprising for people. . . . Maybe it’s the current climate, but our parents raised us to have our own opinions and emotions and be curious, independent thinkers,” Barbara explains. “As long as we are living a life well lived and have formed our own opinions, they’re proud of us.” Sounds like any old dad. “People will say to us, ‘Why are y’all so normal?’ ” says Jenna. “It’s like, Thank you . . . I think.”
Bush sisters, thank you...I think.