ADVERTISEMENT July 2024: Joe Biden makes the long-awaited decision to drop out of the US presidential election, thrusting his vice president into the spotlight and, ultimately, into a wall.
It has been just over a year since this bombshell turnaround, and Kamala Harris has things to say about it.
Harris announced on Thursday the upcoming release of a new memoir about her historic presidential run.
The 320-page book, titled “107 Days”, in reference to the length of her abbreviated presidential campaign, will be published by Simon & Schuster on 23 September.
“Since leaving office, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on those days and with candour and reflection, I’ve written a behind-the-scenes account of that journey,” Harris said in a video announcement on social media.
“I believe there’s value in sharing what I saw, what I learned, and what it will take to move forward.”
Harris ended up heading the Democratic presidential ticket after Biden’s withdrawal, and she was defeated last November by Republican Donald Trump. She would have been the first woman and first woman of colour to become President of the United States.
“Kamala Harris is a singular American leader,” Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp said in a statement. “107 Days captures the drama of running for president better than just about anything I’ve read.”
The announcement came a day after Harris said she would not run for California governor in 2026, ending months of speculation over her participation in the race.
Harris said she was taking a break from political office, telling talk show host Stephen Colbert that the American political system was “broken.”
“For now, I don’t want to go back in the system”, she said in an interview on Colbert’s Late Show – her first since the 2024 election.
“I want to travel the country, I want to listen to people, I want to talk with people, and I don’t want it to be transactional, where I’m asking for their vote.”
She is still regarded as a potential presidential candidate for 2028.
Harris’ upcoming book will be her second memoir following “The Truths We Hold” (2019), which described her childhood and early political career up to the US Senate.
Writing a memoir is a popular and sometimes lucrative career change for political figures once they leave office.
Harris’ publisher, Simon & Schuster, is especially used to the form, with its catalogue including autobiographies by presidents Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
In 2024, the publishing house issued “The Art of Power”, Nancy Pelosi’s account of her experience as the first woman Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
Simon & Schuster also released all four of Hillary Clinton’s memoirs, including “What Happened” (2017), about her failed 2016 presidential run.
Let’s hope for Kamala Harris that her book tour will be a more enjoyable experience than the campaign trail.
“107 Days” comes out on 23 September.
