Summary

Home Base – In mid-April, the author writes, there seemed to be indications that the experimental treatment being tried on Beau was working. Tests and scans showed that the tumor in his brain was retreating, even while Beau himself was feeling alert and relatively pain free. Meanwhile, the author writes, he and his family recorded a segment of a television show called “Reading Rainbow,” in which the family was to read Jill Biden’s book aloud. The author describes how reading the book (about children whose father was away at war, an experience similar to that of Beau’s children while their father was fighting in Iraq) became emotionally difficult for him.

The author also writes of how, at about this time, Hillary Clinton announced her intention to run for President. In the wake of her announcement, he writes, he became increasingly aware that her...