First Family

Our book discussion group has been reading "First Family: Abigail and John" by Joseph J. Ellis. Ellis uses the correspondence between John Adams and his wife Abigail to tell their story of American Revolution and its affects on their family. One statistic that stood out to me was that they were more apart during their marriage than they were together, and not because they were uninterested in each other, but because he was devoted to his role in the revolution, and would sacrifice anything to making The United States of America survive, even though it wasn't called that yet. He sacrificed his own personal happiness, the security of his wife, and the emotional stability of his children. We are unable to imagine his conflicts today, and yes, he was an ambitious man, but he knew what was at stake. His moves in the political arena were unselfish, and courageous. This book made me more interested in John Adams and has made me curious to read an entire book of his correspondence.