Former Governor Jennifer Granholm was back in Michigan this week for book signings in Okemos and Livonia. Granholm and her co-author husband Dan Mulhern signed their book at the Livonia International Book Festival and at Schuler Books and Music in Meridian Mall.
Lines formed early in Okemos as admiring fans talked about what a bad hand Granholm had been dealt as Governor. Her book, “A Governor’s Story: The Fight for Jobs and America’s Economic Future” describes the joys and pain of her eight years trying to get Michigan back on track despite being pummelled by a faltering national economy. In an article in Dome Magazine, I described the book as a hybrid: not quite a memoir and not quite an autobiography. The book details how Michigan was the canary in the mine when it came to predicting what was in store for the U.S. economy. Read more about that on that on Mittenlit.com, Michigan’s premier blog on the state’s literary scene.
Granholm who teaches at the University of California Berkeley will soon begin a TV gig “The War Room with Jennifer Granholm” on the new network Current TV, following the Keith Olbermann show. In an interview at the time of the book launch Granholm said that Obama faces the identical situation she did in her race for a second term: a faltering economy and an opponent who has mega-bucks.
Waiting in line for Granholm at the Okemos event was former Attorney General Frank Kelley who was there to pick up a copy for a friend. Granholm succeeded Kelley as Attorney General before being elected as the first woman Governor of Michigan. Kelley and Granholm talked briefly about his weekly mentoring of her after her election. For most of those in line it was the first time they had a chance to introduce themselves to Granholm. It was a day of small talk and big dreams for the former Governor and her husband.
