Every Day Is Extra

By: John Kerry

Narrated by: John Kerry

An instant New York Times bestseller, John Kerry’s revealing memoir offers “a detailed record of an important life…frank, thoughtful, and clearly written…A bittersweet reminder of what the country once demanded of its leaders” (The New York Times Book Review).

Every Day Is Extra is John Kerry’s candid personal story. A Yale graduate, Kerry enlisted in the US Navy in 1966, and served in Vietnam. He returned home highly decorated but disillusioned, and he testified powerfully before Congress as a young veteran opposed to the war. Kerry was elected to the Senate in 1984, eventually serving five terms. In 2004 he was the Democratic presidential nominee and came within one state—Ohio—of winning. He succeeded Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State in 2013. In that position he tried to find peace in the Middle East; dealt with the Syrian civil war while combatting ISIS; and negotiated the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement.

“In these pages Kerry shows remarkable honesty, depth, even spirituality…There is remarkable poignancy—not the usual currency of the career politician and the country’s top diplomat” (The Boston Globe). A witness to some of the most important events of our recent history, Kerry tells wonderful stories about colleagues Ted Kennedy and John McCain, as well as President Obama and other major figures. He writes movingly of recovering his faith while in the Senate, and how he deplores the hyper-partisanship that has infected Washington.

Every Day Is Extra “draws back the curtain on a life you thought you knew, but turns out to be a bit different…A surprisingly personal book” (The Washington Post) that shows Kerry for the dedicated, witty, and authentic man that he is and provides forceful testimony for the importance of diplomacy and American leadership to address the increasingly complex challenges of a more globalized world.

It's an honor to have Mr. John Kerry as narrator

This book is quite extensive and it gets better towards the end. The last chapters are simply awesome, the author gives his message. The fact of being narrated by Mr. John Kerry is a plus. The experience of driving on my daily long comutes and feeling like United States Secretary of State was my passanger telling his biography :)

IMHO, Elite & Normal

This book is really worth it . Time is the only scarce resource we have between the elite and the normal people. Mr. Kerry does an excellent job as a story teller from the boarding school in Europe to the Secretary of State. The only reason I gave it a one star was because it doesn’t work on the Apple Watch.

Inspiring and thoughtful

Interesting to listen to see how Sec Kerry grew from a soldier to anti war activist to politician presidential candidate and sec of State. It was educating to listen view the second half of the 20th century from Secretary Kerry's perspective. Sec Kerry's narration added additional appeal to the audiobook. he is well articulated and experienced politician who can convince you on many matters despite your worldview. After listening to the book I have utmost respect to John Kerry and what he stood and fought for.

Most memoirs are fiction but this one is authentic

We, my husband and I, are partial towards John Kerry having 1st noticed him during the height of the Vietnam War when he testified before congress. His quote, "Who wants to be the last man to die for a mistake" linger as heroic.

The audible version is a beautiful telling of living a life of privilege from a young boy to senior statesman. We see him as a great American Patriot. Our political process has prevented him from becoming president but presidential he is.

Kerry is a man of integrity

I really enjoyed this memoir of John Kerry's life. He is a man of principle and integrity. He acknowledges his mistakes and shortfalls while learning from them in an effort to continue the fight. His recounting of his early privileged childhood, to his days at boarding school to his Vietnam experience feel truthful and certainly shaped who he is as a man. The stories about his time in the US Senate stress the importance of relationship building and learning from his seniors. These lessons served him well as secretary of state and his amazing work on the Iran treaty along with the climate accord. It will be interesting to see what this courageous man does with his extra days.