I Have Something to Tell You – Chasten Buttigieg

Full disclosure: I am a huge Pete Buttigieg fan.

He was the first presidential candidate I felt was like me — in age, in upbringing, in values and, of course, in queerness. While Mayor Pete didn’t really stand a chance in winning the nomination, his competitiveness in the race was groundbreaking.

Chasten, who had the potential to go from middle school teacher to First Gentleman of the United States, was an omnipresent yet restrained presence on the campaign trail. While this memoir serves as his formal introduction, it’s also important we recognize it for what it is — a political tool.

The 2020 presidential campaign will likely not be the last time we see Mayor Pete run for major office, but now is the perfect time to clean-up some false or misleading information that was spread during the election cycle.

Who better to do that than his husband?

Like Mayor Pete, I related to a lot of Chasten’s story. From trying to figure out where you belong in a small Midwestern town to finding yourself while studying abroad and navigating a successful relationship when both of you are high achievers.

In recounting his life Chasten begins to feel like an old friend. He’s bold, unabashed, relatable and, above all, decent. I appreciated his candor throughout — from the self-deprecation (his first meeting with President Obama) to lots of cussing, some pop culture references, the phenomena of “not being gay enough” and addressing more taboo subjects, like same-sex sexual assault and abuse.

It was fascinating to learn how he adjusted as someone basically thrust into politics — first as the mayor’s boyfriend in a city of 100,000+ in 2015 — and the process of finding his voice and his boundaries without compromising what Pete needs to do.

Like all good memoirs there is a little gossip but Chasten mostly stays above the board. He often cites Michelle Obama — a perfect lead to follow — as an inspiration for how a political spouse can be successful and have an identity separate from the person in the spotlight.

While he does occasionally veer into Democratic party talking points, he anchors the discussion in personal experience that makes it human and not another plan on a candidate’s website.

Maybe it’s because political divisiveness has reached a level where it feels like our country can never come back from it, but reading “Something” gave me a lot of hope for the future — and candidates that want to represent all of America, not just those that agree with them.

Rating (story): 4/5 stars

Rating (narration): 3/5 stars

Format: Audiobook (library loan)

Dates read: September 9 – 13, 2020

Multi-tasking: Good to go.