I have a new respect for members of Congress, whether or not they line up with my personal political preferences. I remember Primary Colors referring to them as "bulked up student body presidents", and this, along with their relative anonymity outside of their own districts colored my thinking.

Gabrielle Gifford before she was shot was an impressive, enthusiastic, and self-sacrificing public servant, and she is surely not alone. These characteristics were only made more dramatic by the recovery she is enduring. I appreciated the author, mostly her husband, being willing to share just how bad off she was and how far she has come.

If I have a criticism of this book, it is a minor one. She has such huge credibility and influence right now, that she and her entourage must be careful how it is used. Swiping at the Speaker of the House for not visiting her is, I think, unnecessarily petty and diminishes her hard-earned stature.

I would love to talk with her about how she may be re-examining some of her politics in light of her substantial injury. Based on the book, "a woman's right to choose" is integral to her choosing her party affiliation. I disagree diametrically with this position, and I wonder if she might look at it again given abortion's assumptions of what life is worth living or worth continuing.