If We Break by Kathleen (Biden) Buhle — Book Review

If We Break is a brilliant memoir written by Kathrin Buhle, who was married to Hunter Biden (son of Joe Biden).

It’s definitely fun and easy to read and carries a lot of very emotional stories. It’s the story of a how a marriage that started quite well fell apart largely thanks to a the husband’s (Hunter’s) alcohol addiction.

Buhle uses an honest, candid tone. She was from middle class background and met Hunter Biden on a Jesuit Volunteers program. There is high tension in the background due to social class differences between Kathleen Buhle (her maiden name) and Hunter Biden.

The book mentions very little about Joe and Jill Biden except that they were always kind to Kathleen. Some important details are left out too. The book narrates more than two decades of the marriage and mentions a lot of challenges. What I love about this book is its non-dramatic tone. Even dramatic events like Hunter Biden being on Ashley Madison Website do no register as dramatic events. In that you see the writer Kathleen Buhle who had to put her ambitions behind to raise three daughters.

What personally struck me was how things work in the world of powerful people. Buhle mentions how because of Joe Biden’s influence she was gifted a private room at the hospital where her first daughter got delivered. One can guess that such events were plenty but the book sadly does not mentions so many of them. Still, you get a pretty good idea. This reminded me of Steve Job’s biography and a similar event: Hillary and Bill Clinton coming to stay at Steve Job’s house. That was when Bill Clinton was president.

But overall “If We Break” is a candidly written memoir and definitely worth reading whether you are interested in finding out more about Bidens or about the girl from middle class who goes through somewhat of a roller coaster ride but is able to re-discover her identity by the end of the book.