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A Memoir
by Keisha Lance Bottoms
A poignant and inspiring memoir from the former mayor of Atlanta about her modest, hardscrabble upbringing, and fully appreciating the selfless, loving, fierce, and altogether Southern-twinged lessons her family taught her.
Long before Keisha Lance Bottoms rose to prominence in politics, she was a daddy's girl from the Westside of Atlanta—the baby of her family who did well in school, though she talked too much in class; an outgoing kid who dreamt of growing up to be elegant and charismatic like her parents, cool like her older siblings and big cousins, and the pride of her very large, Southern family.
After law school, Bottoms worked as an attorney, served as a judge, and was elected to City Council and the mayorship, where she garnered national attention for her leadership during the pandemic and George Floyd protests. Later, she was appointed senior advisor in President Joe Biden's Cabinet.
Yet Bottoms felt disquieted internally. She was in her early fifties and approaching the age her beloved father was when he died. She couldn't shake the feeling that something in her life was missing, like she'd forgotten to bring an essential element of herself along for her ascension. Stepping away from the daily political grind, Bottoms realized how much she'd sanded down parts of herself in her path to professional success. She'd tucked away the fuller details about her dad's drug abuse and prison stints for dealing; the sexual abuse she endured; the eating disorder she developed; the close-knit, utterly unpolished family who doted on her and gave her an incredible foundation of love and confidence but whose influence she'd pruned to a sleek, charming, campaign-ready sheen. She thought that was the price of upward mobility. Then she realized she was wrong.
The Rough Side of the Mountain is about this excavation. It's Bottoms's deeply affecting journey to rescue a version of herself that she thought she had to leave behind to succeed. An honor to the lessons from kinfolk plainly told, hers is a timely and heartfelt memoir about unmasking oneself, the joys of authenticity, embracing what you see, and spreading that powerful message.
"[Bottoms'] candor isn't entirely unusual, but it's still good to read that, rather than try to hide away her 'blemished family past,' she unhesitatingly steps up to bear witness to it. A well-crafted memoir of private struggles and public service." —Kirkus Reviews
"Gives readers a bird's-eye view into her world outside of her political career.... The Rough Side of the Mountain suggests no one should silence their relatives or mask parts of themselves as they pursue their goals." —Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"The Rough Side of the Mountain offers poignant testimony about authenticity, family, and misplaced shame. It's no surprise that Keisha Lance Bottoms has put these lessons to powerful use in her advocacy for our community. Moreover, her story shows we can all show up and make a difference in our own way." —Senator Raphael Warnock, author of A Way Out of No Way and The Crooked Places Made Straight
"Balancing leadership with motherhood is never easy, especially during times of crisis. Yet Keisha Lance Bottoms has spent the past two decades navigating both. Now we see how. The Rough Side of the Mountain shows her hard-won strength and the source from which she gained it." —Ambassador Susan E. Rice, author of Tough Love
This information about The Rough Side of the Mountain was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Keisha Lance Bottoms has served as Senior Advisor to former President Joe Biden, leading the transformation of the White House Office of Public Engagement, and serving as a liaison and media surrogate. Before joining the White House, Bottoms worked with CNN as a Political Commentator, based in Atlanta, Georgia, where she served as Mayor.
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