5 Of The Best Books Written By First Ladies

For much of American history, the role of First Lady came with inherited, if unwritten, expectations. She was to be a gracious hostess, an impeccable representative of the nation, a steadfast supporter of her husband's presidency, and a champion of causes noble but non-threatening. She was to possess just enough personality to be charming but not so much that it overshadows her husband, and her ambitions were to be sublimated into state dinners, china, decor, and floral arrangements. Her power, when exerted, should be indirect — a carefully measured influence rather than a blunt force. Even today, despite modern shifts (and until a man occupies the role), the FLOTUS position remains a fraught balancing act. On the one hand, it stays tethered to traditional, ornamental femininity; on the other, the broader culture teases movement beyond rigid gender roles.

And yet, First Ladies have found ways to assert themselves. Some have wielded influence in ways that were strategic; Eleanor Roosevelt redefined the position through her activism, Hillary Clinton through her policy work. But another strategy has been to define their legacies in print. Helen Taft, wife of 27th President William Howard Taft, was the first to publish a memoir in her lifetime, and her recollections are now considered a classic. Since then, many have followed suit. Now, after Melania Trump's "Melania" joined the canon in 2024, the tradition continues. These women have used the written word to offer a rare perspective on history, and on the personal toll of public service.

Many readers found comfort in the sheer gutsiness of Betty Ford's first memoir, "The Times of My life" when it was first published in 1978. On the page, as in life, she was plucky, fun, and honest. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after Gerald Ford took office in 1974, she spoke openly about her mastectomy. Her candor led to a surge in breast cancer screenings across the country, a phenomenon later dubbed the "Betty Ford blip." But this wasn't about personal influence. As she says in the book, "I'd come to recognize more clearly the power of the woman in the White House. Not my power "but the power of the position, a power which could be used to help."

She extended that philosophy to her entire time in the White House, as the work demonstrates. As the wife of the so-called Accidental President, she had no pretense of being a carefully groomed political figure. As she once admitted, "I was terrified at first. I didn't have the vaguest idea of what being a first lady was and what was demanded of me...I just decided to be myself." But if Washington was where she had to be, she wasn't going to spend her time inauthentically. She spoke freely about equal rights (including the unseen labor of housewives), and addiction, and the book crackles with the same wit and candor that made her such a likable figure. In fact, "The Times of My Life" left a legacy so compelling, Hollywood took notice, with the legendary Gena Rowlands portraying Ford in a TV movie of her story.

Laura Bush had always belonged to books. Long before she married into a political dynasty, she was a librarian in Texas, living alone with a cat named Dewey (named after, yes, the Dewey Decimal System). In another life, she might have been perfectly content to spend her days lost in the shelves. But history had other plans. As the wife of the 43rd president, she brought that literary sensibility with her, founding the National Book Festival, championing literacy programs, securing funding to rebuild school libraries devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and writing "Spoken From the Heart."

For someone who spent years playing the dutiful political spouse, Laura Bush emerges here as a more complex figure than the demure presence often seen at her husband's side. This work charts her unusual path from West Texas to the White House in crystallizing detail, taking readers inside the Oval Office during some of America's most uncertain hours. 

Poised but deeply felt, "Spoken from the Heart" offers a First Lady's eye view of a nation on the tense edge of transformation. She doesn't always toe the party line, recalling how she urged him to avoid turning gay marriage into a wedge issue and holding views on abortion that would set her apart from the Republican base. Still, it's impossible to ignore that her defence of George W. Bush's tenure is resolute — controversial though it may be.

"Becoming" wasn't just the bestselling non-fiction book of its time; it left everything in the dust. Michelle Obama's 2018 memoir seemed to outsell everything, including the year's biggest fiction titles. This was a publishing phenomenon so massive that Oprah, whose own book club has selected some of the best picks of the 2020s, declared, "I want the whole world to read this book." Millions did. 

The book's first half front-loads its sharpest insights and most intimate disclosures. She begins with her childhood on the South Side of Chicago, where her parents instilled in the discipline and ambition that would shape the rest of her life. She writes about the early years of marriage, the strain of fertility struggles, the tensions that surfaced early in her marriage, and the deep discomfort she felt when thrust into the national spotlight. As she reaches the White House, the memoir noticeably shifts. The edges soften, and "Becoming" takes on the polished air of a legacy project, recounting the highlights of her tenure: the Let's Move initiative, the White House Garden, and Let Girls Learn — to name but a few.

Once published, "Becoming" was a literary juggernaut, a publishing spectacle. The tour filled arenas and flaunted the former FLOTUS' fabulous new wardrobe — a watershed moment in Obama's style transformation since leaving the White House. It's also a rare celebrity memoir you'll want to listen to on audiobook, with Michelle herself narrating with her familiar warmth and authority.

What happened? After Donald Trump's shock win in 2016, many were left asking the same thing. But Hillary Clinton doesn't pose the question; there's no question mark in the title of her 2017 memoir. That's because she isn't asking, she's telling. Or, depending on your perspective, explaining, justifying, or spinning.

Clinton has written plenty of books, but this one exists in a category of its own, not least because of the moment it captures: a moment so bizarre, so uniquely destabilizing, that even its most defensive passages are worth revisiting. Critics pounced on its blame-casting, noting the number of pages dedicated to calling out the likes of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Vladimir Putin, and an extensive supporting cast.

The tone also makes "What Happened" a unique candidate amongst political memoirs. Gone is the polished, diplomatic Clinton of "Hard Choices" or "Living History." Here, her tongue is sharper and looser. At times, she leans heavily into listing her efforts to connect with voters — and there's definitely a sense that, even now, she's still making her case as the best person for the job. But in the end, "What Happened" answers some questions, whilst leaving the biggest one — why it all went wrong — up for debate.

Michelle Obama delivers her message so well, she makes the list twice. "The Light We Carry," her second book arrived in 2022 with the weight of following one of the bestselling memoirs of all time. But this isn't a memoir in the traditional sense; though peppered with personal anecdotes, it functions as a guide to carrying life's burdens and finding steadiness in these unsteady times. 

Obama's experiences shape her belief that "our hurts become our fears. Our fears become our limits." It is this universally instructive observation that propels the rest of the work, which hinges upon the techniques she employs to help her through the chaos. Though not all of us can relate to the unease she felt being one of the few Black students at Princeton, or how her grandfather's world suffocated under the weight of racism — and the loneliness of raising two young daughters as her husband  campaigned for president is certainly a unique strand of solitude — we all know what it means to wrestle with doubt. The beloved former FLOTUS distills her hard-won wisdom into lessons we can all take to heart.

Every book on this list has been written (or co-written) by a woman who once held the title of First Lady. Until the day a First Gentleman takes the stage, these books serve as rare glimpses into the lives of women who navigated power from the periphery. Each memoir gives us a compelling behind-the-scenes look at this elusive role, capturing the reality of life as a First Lady — and the women in those shoes — in a way that few others have managed. Of all the works written by First Ladies, these stand out as the most intriguing and well-crafted.