Read It: Sarah Palin "Going Rogue" (really)

Now, if I were American, I'm pretty sure I would be a Democrat. At least that's what I would tell people, because right now it sounds so much cooler than the alternative. That said, I truly enjoyed reading "Going Rogue" by Sarah Palin. It was a learning experience, as I knew little about American politics, even less about the state of Alaska, and hardly anything about Palin's true story.

Throughout her autobiography, Palin shares valuable lessons about working families and about faith, as well as great quotations, including this one from Aristotle: "Critisism is something we can avoid by saying nothing, doing nothing, being nothing." Coincidentally (though Palin doesn't believe in coincidences) I read her book the weekend that I launched this blog to the public, and was second-guessing myself, and the words of wisdom hit home. Love her or hate her, Palin 'says', 'does', and 'is', and knows that some criticism may be the price she pays.

After reading the memoir, I see her much differently than I did during her Vice-Presidential campaign, when I relied only on the media for information. Of course, she wrote her story the way she wanted it told, so the two perspectives need to be balanced, but she has convinced me to do more than split the difference. She didn't even shy away from sharing some of her less-than-glowing moments, like the painful Katie Couric interview or the time she was phone-pranked by Montreal comediens.

It seems like (cheese alert) we can learn something about ourselves every time we hear someone else's life story, and this was no exception. My lesson learned? I never, ever want to run for Vice-President of the United States. Whew, glad to finally cross that one off the list.