Stronger, Cindy McCain
Stronger, Cindy McCain
3 Rating(s)
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
Club: $10.00

Stronger
Courage, Hope, and Humor in My Life with John McCain

Author: Cindy McCain

Narrator: Cindy McCain

Unabridged: 9 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/11/2021


Synopsis

In Stronger, the widow of Senator John McCain opens up about her beloved husband, their thirty-eight-year marriage, and the trials and triumphs of a singular American life.
 
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NEW YORK POST • “At once a love letter to her late husband . . . and an indictment of the party-line politics he fought against . . . This is the Cindy McCain we suspected was at his side for so many years.”—Time

Cindy Hensley was just out of college when she met and fell in love with the celebrated Navy hero John McCain. They embarked on a thrilling life together that put her at the center of American politics for over four decades. Stronger, her moving and inspiring memoir, tells the story of her adventurous life with John for the first time. 
 
Raising their four children in Arizona while John flourished as a six-term senator in Washington, D.C., Cindy McCain brought her own flair to the role of political wife. She eagerly supported John’s career even as she tried hard to stay out of the spotlight and maintain her own health and well-being. In Stronger, she is honest in revealing her own successes and missteps, discussing how she dealt with political attacks targeting her children, her battle with opioid addiction, and the wild whirl of campaigning for president.
 
As they built their life together, Cindy and John continued the multi-generation McCain tradition of service to country. With both immense pride and deep worry, she sent two sons off to active duty in the military. She describes her own brave efforts bringing medical support to countries in crisis and empowering women in Africa and around the world. And she reveals her feelings about the tumultuous effects of the Trump presidency on the military.
 
Most important, this book shares how John’s humor and strength helped Cindy grow into the confident woman she is now. More than a political story, Stronger is the unforgettable journey of one woman who believes in family, honor, and country—and is willing to stand up for all of them.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jean on December 11, 2021

I came away from this book impressed with the dignity and courage of the McCain family. Cindy reveals such grace and dignity that is almost old fashion. The book starts with the death of John McCain and then proceeds to tell the story of Cindy and her marriage to John McCain. If you enjoy memoirs, y......more

Goodreads review by Bernadette on May 15, 2021

I am a liberal Democrat and enjoyed reading Cindy McCain's book written after the death of her husband, the late Republican senator from Arizona John McCain, known for his "across the aisle" style of politics. It is Cindy's chance to set things straight about what she considers some false impression......more

Goodreads review by Lisa on May 27, 2024

Loved the writing, tone and message of civility, dignity and honor. Stronger is a poignant and thought-provoking book. Thanks to Cindy McCain for carrying on the legacy of a great man by creating a path of her own.......more

Goodreads review by Mary on June 08, 2021

I liked Cindy’s strategy of starting with a brief description of her husband’s death and funeral and then providing a more detailed description near the end of the book. I suspect many readers were more sympathetic to her when they reached the detailed description. Because of her Hitchcock blonde lo......more

Goodreads review by Zibby on June 04, 2021

In "Stronger," the author is honest in revealing things about her life we didn't know: her successes and missteps, how she dealt with political attacks on her family, her battle with opioid addiction, and the tumultuous time when her husband (John McCain) campaigned for president. I loved reading abo......more


Quotes

“Cindy McCain shares her front row seat to the life and times of the late six-term senator [John McCain] in an account that makes it a worthwhile read.”—NPR

“[A] bracing volume.”The Washington Post

“There are a handful of great American families in politics that have risen to the rank of legend. The Kennedys and the Bushes, the Rockefellers and the Roosevelts. But perhaps no mythology has been nursed with such purpose and a sense of national service than that of the McCains—and not without good cause or true mission. . . . Cindy McCain’s memoir . . . is at once a love-letter to her late husband, who died of brain cancer in 2018, and an indictment of the party-line politics he fought against. It’s also a late cry for help in a political system that still expects spouses to be mute and insists successful women married to politicians defer to the men whose names are on ballots. . . . This is the Cindy McCain we suspected was at his side for so many years, but who chose to stay out of the political fray so as not to cause trouble for her husband. . . . Her writing is replete with the famed tales that make the McCain legend so compelling. . . . With this memoir, the still-committed Republican is signaling that the grit that defines the McCain brand in American political life and its mythology is still here.”Time