Barack Obama has penned a new book! The 59-year-old former president announced on social media Thursday that his upcoming memoir, A Promised Land, will hit shelves on Nov. 17.
“There’s no feeling like finishing a book, and I’m proud of this one,” he wrote on Instagram alongside a shot of the cover, which features a smiling, black-and-white pic of the politician. “I’ve spent the last few years reflecting on my presidency, and in A Promised Land I’ve tried to provide an honest accounting of my presidential campaign and my time in office: the key events and people who shaped it, my take on what I got right and the mistakes I made, and the political, economic, and cultural forces that my team and I had to confront then — and that as a nation we are grappling with still.”
In addition to the political aspects of the book, Barack hopes to use the memoir “to give readers a sense of the personal journey that [my wife] Michelle [Obama] and I went through during those years [of my presidency], with all the incredible highs and lows.”
On top of that, A Promised Land — which will debut shortly after the election, during a time of “such enormous upheaval” — will offer the former president’s thoughts “on how we can heal the divisions in our country going forward and make our democracy work for everybody — a task that won’t depend on any single president, but on all of us as engaged citizens.”
“Along with being a fun and informative read, I hope more than anything that the book inspires young people across the country — and around the globe — to take up the baton, lift up their voices, and play their part in remaking the world for the better,” he concluded.
The former first lady, who came out with her own memoir, Becoming, in 2018, supported her husband’s announcement on her Instagram Story, writing, “There’s no one more reflective, more honest, and more thoughtful than @barackobama.”
“I’ve seen that in so many ways throughout our life together,” she continued. “And after seeing him pour his whole heart into this book, I know you will too.”
This marks the former president’s third memoir; he previously released Dreams of My Father in 1995 and The Audacity of Hope in 2006.
