An Accidental Activist; My Sudden Collision with Politics

An acclaimed young filmmaker and photographer-and daughter of Senator John Kerry-provides a rare glimpse into the inner circles of power through words and photographs. A presidential campaign memoir like no other.Though steeped all her life in politics because it was her father's profession, Alexandra Kerry never thought of herself as political. To her, her father's job was much like that of any other Dad: It was nothing extraordinary. She felt the tides of the various campaigns as they came and went, and naturally noticed the people who were always around the house-campaign managers, aides, strategists. But for most of that time, Alexandra was a young girl, an adolescent, and later, a young woman trying to find her own footing, first as an actress and later as a photographer and filmmaker.That all changed when her father became the Democratic front-runner in the race for president. It was during that time that Alexandra and her sister began to make campaign stops with their father, to submit to press interviews, and eventually to become regulars on the campaign trail as their father crisscrossed the country. At first this was just a role: a daughter supporting a father she loved and believed in. But eventually during the course of an emotional roller coaster of a political campaign, she found herself caring passionately about the voters she was meeting, the issues that were beginning to emerge as the hot buttons of the race. It was in fact during this time that she found herself becoming, for the first time in her life, a true activist.Documenting that journey via photographs and original writing in this, her first book, Alexandra Kerry brings readers inside the political whirlwind up close and personal: What did it feel like to see her father attacked by the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth? What did she learn about America and its people? How did it feel to see her father come so close to becoming president, and then to watch him concede?This fascinating chronicle is sure to captivate political junkies as well as the everyday reader interested in knowing more about the country, its voters, and the author herself.