Promise Me, Dad: A Year Of Hope, Hardship, And Purpose-答应我，爸爸：痛苦、坚强和充满希望的一年

一部感人至深的回忆录，记述了难忘的一年，一个家庭和一个国家从此被彻底改变。

2014年11月，拜登家族的13名成员聚集在楠塔基特岛，庆祝传统节日感恩节——这一传统他们已经保持了40年，成为了日益忙乱、过度负荷生活中唯一不变的旋律。感恩节对大多数人来说都是一个必须的喘息机会，承上启下，反思过去的一年，同时展望未来。但是今年似乎与往年不同：乔•拜登的大儿子，博，于15个月前被诊断出恶性脑瘤，医生都无法断言还能活多久。“答应我，爸爸”博这样对他的父亲说，“请向我保证，不论发生什么，您都要好好地活下去”，乔答应了儿子在最后一个感恩节的最后一个的要求，这也是本书书名的由来。

《答应我，爸爸》追述了在这之后，乔•拜登非凡的生活和工作中最具挑战和重要的一年。在这一年中，拜登作为美国副总统在全世界的出差里程高达十万英里，在乌克兰、中美洲和伊拉克等地处理危机。无论电话从纽约、国会山、基辅或巴格达打来，只要听到“乔，我需要你的帮助”，他都会做出立即做出反映。在这过去的一年中，乔忍受了巨大的痛苦，不仅要解决政治职责中面临的挑战，同时悼念失去的儿子，这位副总统努力在对国家和对家庭的双重责任中达成平衡。并且面临一个迫切的问题：他是否应该参与2016年的美国总统选举？
   
事实证明，这是令人心痛的一年，同时又是胜利和有成就的一年。这是乔生命中最糟糕的岁月，自己长期的信仰、对家庭的深厚感情以及与奥巴马总统的真挚友谊给了他无穷的力量。乔•拜登在本书中以心酸的笔触，与读者分享他每一个煎熬的时刻——那些他深感无力的日子，感觉再也无法向前一步，却也有自己承担不来的停滞不前。
     
本书的主题很像《当呼吸变成空气》(When Breath Becomes Air)和《不可思议的一年》(The Year of Magical Thinking)，充满了对生命的思考与反思。本书将于2017年11月14日在美国首发，首印量350,000册。为配合本书宣传，作者已确定将在20座城市开展主题为“美国承诺”(American Promise)的大型巡回演讲活动。

作者：Joe Biden

书名：Promise Me, Dad: A Year Of Hope, Hardship, And Purpose《答应我，爸爸：痛苦、坚强和充满希望的一年》

简介：From President-Elect Joe Biden, Promise Me Dad is his deeply moving memoir about the year that would forever change both a family and a country.

“Biden splices a heartbreaking story with an election story and a foreign affairs story. And in so doing, he offers something for everyone, no matter which strand draws you in.”—The New York Times Book Review

In November 2014, thirteen members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a tradition they had been celebrating for the past forty years; it was the one constant in what had become a hectic, scrutinized, and overscheduled life. The Thanksgiving holiday was a much-needed respite, a time to connect, a time to reflect on what the year had brought, and what the future might hold. But this year felt different from all those that had come before. Joe and Jill Biden’s eldest son, Beau, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor fifteen months earlier, and his survival was uncertain. “Promise me, Dad,” Beau had told his father. “Give me your word that no matter what happens, you’re going to be all right.” Joe Biden gave him his word.

Promise Me Dad chronicles the year that followed, which would be the most momentous and challenging in Joe Biden’s extraordinary life and career. As vice president, Biden traveled more than a hundred thousand miles that year, across the world, dealing with crises in Ukraine, Central America, and Iraq. When a call came from New York, or Capitol Hill, or Kyiv, or Baghdad—“Joe, I need your help”—he responded. For twelve months, while Beau fought for and then lost his life, the vice president balanced the twin imperatives of living up to his responsibilities to his country and his responsibilities to his family. And never far away was the insistent and urgent question of whether he should seek the presidency in 2016.

The year brought real triumph and accomplishment, and wrenching pain. But even in the worst times, Biden was able to lean on the strength of his long, deep bonds with his family, on his faith, and on his deepening friendship with the man in the Oval Office, Barack Obama.

Writing with poignancy and immediacy, Joe Biden allows readers to feel the urgency of each moment, to experience the days when he felt unable to move forward as well as the days when he felt like he could not afford to stop.

This is a book written not just by the president, but by a father, grandfather, friend, and husband. Promise Me Dad is a story of how family and friendships sustain us and how hope, purpose, and action can guide us through the pain of personal loss into the light of a new future.