Young Man in a Hurry
A Memoir of Discovery
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Narrated by:
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Gavin Newsom
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By:
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Gavin Newsom
From California Governor Gavin Newsom comes an intimate and poignant account of identity, belonging, and the defining moments that inspired a life in politics
“Go slow,” his political elders advised him, but Gavin Newsom has never known such a speed. For Newsom, the California Dream is what lured his father’s family from County Cork, Ireland, six generations ago. His great-great-grandfather, a cop, walked a beat in San Francisco, where almost 150 years later, Newsom would be elected as mayor, running on the values instilled in him by his family history: that California’s open arms must continue to extend to each new generation.
Newsom has never lived anywhere but California. Born in San Francisco, his parents divorced at a young age, and his childhood was spent being tugged between two worlds: his mother worked three jobs in order to care for her children while his father, a close friend of the Getty family, brought Newsom into San Francisco society, a world of wealth and connections. The dissonance was frustrating, and made all the more difficult because of undiagnosed dyslexia, but the vantage point was valuable: he inherited his mother’s perseverance and his father’s reverence of California, not only its wildness, but its opportunity.
In Young Man in a Hurry, Newsom traces the forces that have defined his ambitions as a politician and have pushed him to outpace the nation on myriad cutting-edge social issues that have since entered the mainstream. As mayor of San Francisco, he made waves when he violated state law in order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, more than ten years before the Supreme Court made such unions legal. He launched bold efforts to counter climate change, improve mental health care, and enhance gun safety, and worked to preserve the California Dream for his constituents. Elected as governor on the eve of unprecedented wildfires and entering office into immediate hyper-partisan headwinds from Washington, DC, Newsom has constantly and consistently stuck his neck out. Here for the first time, he reflects on the long personal journey that ultimately shaped him into one of the most recognizable and accomplished elected officials in America. Filled with intimate family history and written with candor and remarkable personal insight, here is a deeply resilient California story of identity, belonging, and the defining moments that inspired a life in politics.
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Critic reviews
“Few readers of Young Man in a Hurry will come away thinking of its author as the 'Prince Gavin' of his rivals’ caricature. Instead they will see a man, now 58, whose story is far more complex, and interesting, than the haircut and smile would have you believe." —The Guardian
“Storytelling was king in the Newsom clan, the California governor writes . . . surprisingly pleasurable . . . Newsom does his lineage of raconteurs proud." —San Francisco Chronicle
“Newsom’s life is fascinating enough that his story, rendered with the assistance of a ghostwriter, Mark Arax, clips along: from his struggles with dyslexia and alcohol to a safari with the billionaire Getty family to the searing memory of watching his cancer-stricken mother die by an act of assisted suicide. It is built on a rather unconventional forensic examination of Newsom family history — including interviews he conducted with relatives — that at times verges on therapeutic self-analysis . . . As presented in Young Man in a Hurry, Newsom is a man shaped more by hardship and struggle than privilege." —Adam Nagourney, The New York Times Book Review
“This is a memoir about growing up next to immense privilege, thanks to the Newsom family’s friendship with the oil-rich Gettys, while knowing that it could be taken away at any moment. This insecurity might be the perfect preparation for American politics, where navigating relationships with big-money donors without letting them own you is an essential skill." —Helen Lewis, The Atlantic
“In this candid if carefully crafted memoir, Newsom revisits his fourth-generation San Francisco roots, lingering over the family mythology behind his political rise . . . An engaging portrait of resilience and drive, complicated by proximity to wealth and influence." —Kirkus
“Self-aware, battle-tested and versed in confrontation with Trump . . . [Newsom's] life has been interesting (and wild enough) to make for a colorful read." —The Times (UK)
“Storytelling was king in the Newsom clan, the California governor writes . . . surprisingly pleasurable . . . Newsom does his lineage of raconteurs proud." —San Francisco Chronicle
“Newsom’s life is fascinating enough that his story, rendered with the assistance of a ghostwriter, Mark Arax, clips along: from his struggles with dyslexia and alcohol to a safari with the billionaire Getty family to the searing memory of watching his cancer-stricken mother die by an act of assisted suicide. It is built on a rather unconventional forensic examination of Newsom family history — including interviews he conducted with relatives — that at times verges on therapeutic self-analysis . . . As presented in Young Man in a Hurry, Newsom is a man shaped more by hardship and struggle than privilege." —Adam Nagourney, The New York Times Book Review
“This is a memoir about growing up next to immense privilege, thanks to the Newsom family’s friendship with the oil-rich Gettys, while knowing that it could be taken away at any moment. This insecurity might be the perfect preparation for American politics, where navigating relationships with big-money donors without letting them own you is an essential skill." —Helen Lewis, The Atlantic
“In this candid if carefully crafted memoir, Newsom revisits his fourth-generation San Francisco roots, lingering over the family mythology behind his political rise . . . An engaging portrait of resilience and drive, complicated by proximity to wealth and influence." —Kirkus
“Self-aware, battle-tested and versed in confrontation with Trump . . . [Newsom's] life has been interesting (and wild enough) to make for a colorful read." —The Times (UK)
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