Former First Lady Nancy Reagan Triumphs In New Biography

As conservatives, we lionize President Reagan, look to Nancy and Ronald Reagan as relationship goals, and we admire Nancy Reagan. So I was ecstatic when I saw a forthcoming biography about Nancy Reagan.

The Triumph of Nancy Reagan, now available wherever books are sold, is a new biography about the former First Lady by The Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty. The author “spent four years interviewing the people who knew this couple best and draws on overlooked archives, letters, memoirs, and White House records, compiling the most extensive biography of Nancy Reagan yet.”

There’s a reason this is getting billed as the “definitive” biography of Nancy Reagan. It’s well researched, it clocks in at 672 pages and covers Nancy’s life from birth to death. While I’ve been reading about the Reagans for years, I still learned a ton from this biography. Yes, I was briefly skeptical of an author that’s from the Washington Post (sue me, I’m a conservative), but Tumulty did a superb job of showing Nancy’s humanity while also showing that a Reagan presidency would not have been complete without Nancy. She truly was a force in the White House and in Reagan’s political career. She was Reagan’s closest advisor and most trusted friend. We all know that. But this biography dives deeps and shows the true magnitude of influence and her mark on history. Nancy weighed in and helped shape decisions on staffing, weighed in on policy and speeches, and cultivated his image. Unlike what many feminists moaned and groaned about her and her devotion to her husband, she did have a profound impact on Washington in the ’80s — even if it wasn’t as visible as many would have preferred. And while it does touch on her many triumphs, it also doesn’t shy away on her shortcomings and missteps. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but Nancy Reagan was am incredibly complicated individual and she had successes and failures, just like the rest of us. The biography shows the depth of Nancy Reagan and what was often misunderstood about the consequential First Lady.

I was not alive during the Reagan years. Everything I know about the iconic couple I have researched and read. What I really enjoyed about this biography was walking through the big and historic moments of the Reagan presidency through a lens of Nancy Reagan. It was fascinating to read about how those decisions affected her and her feelings about those moments. Some of them really surprised me. Also, Nancy always had some strong opinions about the people in the Reagan orbit. She made those feelings known to her husband and those around him. So you know there was some major tea in this book. I won’t give anything away, but let me tell you, the tea is piping hot.

So if you want to learn more about the power and triumph of Nancy Reagan and the reason why she is one of the most influential First Ladies of the century, look no further than this book. This is a biography that belongs on every conservative woman’s bookshelf.

Get your copy of The Triumph of Nancy Reagan here. 

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of The Triumph of Nancy Reagan in exchange for an honest review.

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