Jill Biden is speaking out about one of the most painful periods of her public life — when her husband Joe Biden ended his 2024 presidential campaign amid intense pressure from within his own party.
The former first lady said on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, that her forthcoming memoir, “View from the East Wing: A Memoir,” will disclose for the first time what she experienced during the three weeks when her husband’s five-decade political career abruptly concluded. Gallery Books, part of Simon & Schuster, is set to publish the book on June 2, 2026.
In a short phone interview with The Associated Press, 74-year-old Jill Biden called writing the memoir a therapeutic process after serving as first lady during one of the most turbulent eras in recent American history.
The memoir arrives as interest in the Biden presidency remains strong. Since leaving the White House in January 2025 after President Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in November 2024, the Bidens have largely kept a low profile — until now.
The book aims to illuminate the aftermath of Joe Biden’s disastrous June 27, 2024 debate performance against Trump. Many Democrats were alarmed as the then-81-year-old president spoke with a raspy voice and seemed to repeatedly lose his train of thought. Although aides attributed the performance to a cold and fatigue, the harm was done.
Biden at first insisted he would remain in the race. But as concerns grew among Democrats about his age and capacity to serve to age 86, he left the campaign on July 21, 2024, and threw his endorsement to Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris won the Democratic nomination but was defeated by Trump in November.
The publisher’s press release says the memoir will cover “for the first time” her experiences “before, during, and after the unexpected ending to her husband’s bid for re-election.”
The book will also recount the Biden administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Jill Biden traveled nationwide promoting vaccinations while championing military families, education, community colleges, cancer prevention, and women’s health efforts.
It also touches on another difficult chapter for the Bidens: Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis. In May 2025, the former president’s office disclosed he had an aggressive form of prostate cancer with a Gleason score of 9 that had metastasized to his bones.
Jill Biden said the diagnosis was “quite a shock,” telling the AP that doctors expect he will “live out his natural life” despite the cancer spreading to his bones. The former president, now 83, travels to Washington at least once a week for meetings or public appearances.
The memoir will also explore the early days of the Biden administration, including Joe Biden’s inauguration on the Capitol steps just two weeks after the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the building following his unfounded claims of election fraud.
Jill Biden served as second lady from 2009 to 2017 while her husband was vice president under Barack Obama. She now chairs the Milken Institute’s Women’s Health Network and previously wrote “Where the Light Enters,” released in 2019, which told the story of meeting Joe Biden when he was a Delaware senator and building a life with his two young sons Beau and Hunter and later, their daughter Ashley.
The memoir’s release comes amid a busy season for political books. Former Vice President Harris published her memoir, “107 Days,” in September 2025, documenting her shortened presidential campaign from the day Biden exited through Election Day.
Joe Biden also sold his presidential memoir to Little, Brown & Co., part of Hachette Book Group, for about $10 million in July 2025, though the book’s title and release date have not been disclosed.
For Jill Biden, who spent nearly five decades as a political spouse before becoming first lady, the memoir is a chance to present her perspective in her own voice — a narrative she says gives a “more balanced view” of her husband’s presidency and their remarkable journey together.
