What Happened

"I've tried to explain why, but in the past, I've often felt that I needed to exercise caution in public, as if I were hanging from a wire without a net. I'm dropping my guard now. —Hillary Rodham Clinton, quoted in the What Happened introduction

Hillary Rodham Clinton shares, for the first time, her thoughts and emotions throughout one of the most contentious and unexpected presidential races in history. Now that she is not bound by the rules of a campaign, Hillary shares with you her intense personal experience of being the first woman to receive a major party presidential nomination in an election characterised by fury, sexism, thrilling highs and frustrating lows, unbelievable turns, Russian meddling, and an opponent who disregarded the rules. Her most intimate memoir to date is this one.

She talks about her experience running against Donald Trump in these pages, as well as her blunders, how she handled the stunning and heartbreaking defeat, and how she got back up afterward. With humor and candor, she tells readers what it took to get back on her feet—the rituals, relationships, and reading that got her through, and what the experience has taught her about life. She discusses the difficulties of being a strong woman in the public spotlight, the criticism directed at her voice, looks, and age, as well as the unfair treatment of women in politics.

She explains how a foreign enemy launched an unprecedented attack on our democracy during the 2016 election. Hillary demonstrates the danger of the factors that affected the result and the necessity for Americans to be aware of them in order to defend our democracy and ideals going forward by examining the data and making connections between disparate pieces of information.

The 2016 election was both momentous and unheard of. What Happened tells the narrative of that campaign and its aftermath, serving as a national cautionary tale in addition to being a very personal perspective.