Th role of grandparents
This is the most important theme in the book and covers Hager’s relationship with both her maternal and paternal grandparents. On the one hand, her paternal grandparents were global figures and extremely busy people, but they remained heavily involved in her life. Her maternal grandparents lived a humbler life, yet were no less important to her for it. She mentions of how her maternal grandparents taught her to appreciate the beauty of nature and would take her on star gazing trips.
Family life
Family life is at the centre of this book. When Hager was a child, her grandfather, the First President Bush, brought their family to the limelight, and when her own father President Bush (the Second) was elected, this became ten-fold. Nonetheless, Hager shares messages and emails and letters she received from her family throughout her childhood and into her early adulthood, highlighting that no matter what, her family unit stayed the same.
Life lessons
The book touches upon the basic lessons in life that Hager was taught by her family. This included the ability to retain kindness and compassion, always have respect for others and maintain a sense of humility regardless of how powerful and influential one becomes. These are traits that Hager grew up to value and pass on to her own children.
