The Confession
About this audiobook
In August 2004, Governor James E. McGreevey of New Jersey made history when he declared ""My truth is that I am a gay American,"" and announced his resignation.
Now, in this extraordinarily candid memoir, McGreevey shares his story of a life of ambition, moral compromise, and redemption. From childhood, McGreevey lived a kind of idealized American life, and he strove to exceed expectations in everything he did. He won three elections by the age of thirty-six, and four years later nearly toppled the state's popular governor, Christie Todd Whitman. When he ran again, in 2001, he won by a landslide.
Throughout his adult life McGreevey had been forced to suppress a fundamental truth: that he was gay. He knew that the only clear path to his dreams was to live a straight life, and so he split in two, accepting the traditional role of family man while denying his deepest emotions. And he discovered that becoming a political player demanded ethical shortcuts at least as corrosive as living in the closet.
Written with honesty, grace, and rare insight, The Confession may be among the most honest political memoirs ever written.
About the author
James E. McGreevey was the governor of New Jersey from January 2002 to November 2004. Born in Jersey City, he earned degrees from Columbia, Georgetown, and Harvard before serving three terms as the mayor of Woodbridge, New Jersey. After a narrow defeat in 1997, he was elected to the governor's seat in 2001. He lives in Plainfield, New Jersey with his partner, Mark O'Donnell. He has two daughters, Jacqueline and Morag.
