What Happened

By: Hillary Rodham Clinton

Narrated by: Hillary Rodham Clinton

Length: 18 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

2018 Audie Award Finalist for Autobiography/Memoir and Excellence in Marketing

"In the past, for reasons I try to explain, I've often felt I had to be careful in public, like I was up on a wire without a net. Now I'm letting my guard down." (Hillary Rodham Clinton, from the introduction of What Happened)

For the first time, Hillary Rodham Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history. Now free from the constraints of running, Hillary takes you inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules. This is her most personal memoir yet.

In this audiobook she describes what it was like to run against Donald Trump, the mistakes she made, how she has coped with a shocking and devastating loss, and how she found the strength to pick herself back up afterward. With humor and candor, she tells listeners what it took to get back on her feet - the rituals, relationships, and reading that got her through and what the experience has taught her about life. She speaks about the challenges of being a strong woman in the public eye, the criticism over her voice, age, and appearance, and the double standard confronting women in politics.

She lays out how the 2016 election was marked by an unprecedented assault on our democracy by a foreign adversary. By analyzing the evidence and connecting the dots, Hillary shows just how dangerous the forces are that shaped the outcome and why Americans need to understand them to protect our values and our democracy in the future.

The election of 2016 was unprecedented and historic. What Happened is the story of that campaign and its aftermath - both a deeply intimate account and a cautionary tale for the nation.

©2017 Hillary Rodham Clinton (P)2017 Simon & Schuster

Hillary blames everyone except her bad choices.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A deeper explanation on her choice to hire an inexperienced Campaign Manager who failed to predict that Michigan was a problem, in light of the surprise Loss to Sanders in the primary.

What could Hillary Rodham Clinton have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The book is. Rehashing of a painful primary that was in the end descided by superdelegates the night before the California primary, the deep divide in a Democratoc party that is split between Donors and the Grassroots.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Hillary Rodham Clinton?

Hillary Rodham Clinton does a fine job as narrators it is good to hear it out directly from her.

Any additional comments?

Clintonism belongs in the 1990's

Powerful!

What happened is the most candid story I ve heard . Hillary opening her mind to us is simply the best thing I could have . Thanks you for your public service and god bless you

🙌🏾👍🏾💪🏾💯

🙌🏾👍🏾💪🏾💯. Hillary Clinton keeps it real and honest as usual. Necessary and important. Glad and hopeful she continues to speak up and speak out!

Incredible Insight into 2016 Election

Where does What Happened rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

"What Happened" is an outstanding account from Clinton's perspective about the 2016 election. As a regular audiobook listener, this book ranks highly on my list in quality, content and performance. At times, I had to pause it as it brings one back to the horror of the day following the 2016 election but the hope and courage one can have to move forward.

What was one of the most memorable moments of What Happened?

One of the most memorable moments in the book is when Clinton describes her feelings and thoughts in the days and weeks following the election. As a New Yorker and among the majority of Americans who mourned her loss, this book provided me with the answers to the questions I had been asking. What was she thinking during 45's inauguration? How was she managing losing the electoral college but winning the popular vote (by the largest margin in history)? And most importantly, how is she doing? The answers to these questions is what was most memorable to me.

What does Hillary Rodham Clinton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I was pleased Clinton was narrating her own book and I am not sure I would have purchased the audiobook had she not read it. It is a personal story and best told by the author herself. I would have likely bought the hardcover book instead of the audiobook had she not narrated it.

Any additional comments?

While there will be cynics who slam Clinton's book, it is a incredible listen and an important reference to the 2016 election. What I find most shocking is had 45 lost the election in the same manner (winning the popular vote and losing the electoral college), the public would have had to endure weeks or months or perhaps years of bitter commentary from him. Clinton largely laid low for months following the election and when she writes a well written book about her story, she is criticized. It is the same narrative which has haunted her since she began in politics. Why doesn't everyone just let her do what she feels necessary to do? Write the book, tell the story, speak, do interviews - she is a champion among women. She is our modern day suffragette and many of those cynics who criticize her would never have the courage to do what she has done since the early 90's. She has a long history of breaking the glass ceiling for many of us (I remember how harshly she was criticized for having an office in the White House as First Lady and now we have an inexperienced first daughter who has an office with her own staff who has done and continues to do absolutely nothing to earn it). Hillary Clinton has championed rights for women, children and men for over thirty years and has a record to prove it. I am thrilled Clinton wrote this book and I applaud her courage, wisdom and strength during this extraordinary difficult time in American history with a president hell bent on using the political system to garner more wealth and feed his insaitable ego. Thank you, Madam President! We needed this book and to hear this story. Thank you for everything you have done and I am one among millions of people who are #StillWithYou.

We will persist

Thank you for writing this. I cried, smiled, laughed, dreamed of what almost was, cried more, and commit to going on to persist. We are always with her. Thank you for all of your "firsts". I didnt know about many of them.

Great story

This book was worth the $25, I really got her side of the story. Not Trumps, not Bernies, hers. She is a great person and would have been a great President.

Honestly presidential

It was wonderful to hear Hillary Clinton's account. She is a great American and storyteller. Her story is the story of so many Americans, especially women who can hear echoes of their own lived experiences in the stories she tells of her life, the people she met and the lessons she learned that prepared her for the longest, hardest, most unprecedented election campaign in U.S. history.
She is indeed a daughter, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, friend, activist, lawyer, First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States, Senator, Secretary of State. It was a comfort to hear her voice in my living room reading me this book. Still she inspires us to be activists and to be part of the political conversation. She is and always will be presidential.

Gracious HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

Everyone should read this book! It's a shame that She is not our President!
We all agree that She didn't lose, America did! #AlwaysWithHer #thePEOPLESpresident

A call to action we must not ignore

Many critics have said "she needs to move on, not write a book blaming everyone for her loss." These are people who have not read the book, because the book is not about this. She examines the actions of others that led to her defeat, yes, but also deeply reflects on her own mistakes, and most importantly, shares her fears and predictions of what is to come of the trump administration. Everything she warned us about him while on the campaign trail ended up being true. This book is not a book to cash out on misfortune. It's a book to refuel us with the drive to resist. GET IT NOW.

Processing defeat as therapy, then moving onward

- settling some scores with James Comey, Matt Lauer, & Bernie Sanders, as well as Vladimir Putin & Donald Trump;
- a strong case for the role of sexism & misogyny as it affected media coverage;
- more than we wanted to know about her emails;
- a self-portrait that reveals balance & disciplined legal reasoning;
- and a persuasive argument that the election of Trump represents a "clear and present danger" to our democracy.