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Dr. JIll Biden - View from the East Wing
Past event
Featured Book
View from the East Wing
A novelist once wrote, “There are stories one must tell, and years when one must tell them.” Jill Biden’s time to discuss her four years in the White House is now.
Jill Biden became First Lady at a complicated moment in US history, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the shadow of the January 6 insurrection. These were the circumstances under which she set up office in the East Wing, where she hit the ground running. Throughout her husband’s presidency, Jill remained a tireless advocate for her causes, including women’s health, military families, vaccine awareness, cancer initiatives, and education. She made history as the first-ever First Lady to hold an outside job while her husband was in office, continuing to work as a professor at a nearby community college. Yet all the while, she saw herself as an ordinary woman living an extraordinary life.
In View from the East Wing, Jill shares her White House experiences for the first time, in her own words. She reflects on the Biden presidency and its impact on her family. She brings you behind the scenes, from Camp David to Air Force One, from grading papers in the Rose Garden to witnessing the abrupt end of her husband’s bid for reelection. This is the story of a woman dedicated to her roles as a wife, mother, grandmother, teacher—and First Lady of the United States.
This book will be available for purchase at the event.
About This Event
In View from the East Wing, Dr. Biden tells her story in her own words — the story of an ordinary woman living an extraordinary life, and what it truly means to serve as wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, and First Lady all at once. In this onstage program, she offers a candid, behind-the-scenes look at life in the East Wing — from grading papers in the Rose Garden to traveling aboard Air Force One, from weekends at Camp David to the unforgettable moment her husband’s reelection bid came to an unexpected end.
Drawing on her years at the center of American politics, Dr. Biden shares hard-won lessons in leading with purpose, navigating crisis with grace, and staying grounded in your values when the stakes couldn’t be higher — insights that resonate far beyond the White House, and long after the conversation ends.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear directly from one of the most distinctive voices of a defining era in American history.
All VIP ticket buyers and their guests with tickets in the VIP section are required to undergo heightened security screening in order to be admitted to the VIP photo experience. Screening includes providing your Social Security Number, date of birth, and address several weeks in advance of the event. All VIP attendees must present a photo ID that matches the submitted info to be admitted to the VIP photo experience.
Chicago Humanities is pleased to partner with Chicago’s Seminary Co-op Bookstores, the country’s first not-for-profit bookstore.
Select tickets include a copy of View from the East Wing, which you pick up at the event by showing the book voucher in your PDF ticket.
The balcony of the Athenaeum can only be reached by stairs while the main floor is flat and accessible. We have protected seats on the main floor for accessibility. If you cannot climb stairs or need wheelchair-accessible seating, please call our box office at (312) 661-1239 or email us at tickets@chicagohumanities.org so an audience services representative can ensure your tickets are in an accessible area.
Please visit our FAQ for more information.
Featured Author
Dr. Jill Biden
Jill Biden, former First Lady of the United States, is the New York Times bestselling author of Where the Light Enters and her children’s books Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops, Joey: The Story of Joe Biden, and Willow the White House Cat. She served as Second Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. As First Lady, she advocated for military families, the Biden Cancer Moonshot, community colleges, and women’s health research—and maintained a full-time career teaching English as a community college professor. She chairs the Milken Institute’s Women’s Health Network. A mother and grandmother—and now great-grandmother—she lives with her husband, former President Joe Biden, in Wilmington, Delaware, with their cat, Willow.
About the Venue
Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture
Presented by Seminary Co-Op Bookstore
Lake View
2936 N. Southport Ave
Chicago, IL 60657
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