Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery

by 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 young Gavin Newsom didn’t know such a speed. A month into his first term as mayor of San Francisco, he turned city hall into an altar of gay marriage, an act of defiance that catapulted him onto the national stage, irking not only some of his hometown political mentors but elected officials across the country.
 
The California Dream has always run in Newsom’s blood. It lured his father’s family from County Cork, Ireland, six generations ago. His great-great-grandfather, a cop, walked a beat in San Francisco; his grandfather, nicknamed the Boss, built neighborhoods that looked out to the Pacific. His father, William, became an appellate court judge and a consigliere to his best friend, Gordon Getty.
 
Newsom was five when his parents divorced, and as he came of age, he struggled to make fit the starkly different worlds of his mother and father. His mother, Tessa, worked three jobs to pay the bills, while his father, ensconced in San Francisco society, had become a distant figure. His struggle with dyslexia made childhood harder, a dissonance that made him pedal even faster on his paper route.
 
In Young Man in a Hurry, Newsom traces his rise as a successful businessman and the happenstance that led him to politics. As the governor of California, he confronts the challenges of balancing his family life as he guides California through plague, flood, wildfire, and the rise of autocratic figures in American politics, and examines the many forces that shaped the lives of his parents and grandparents. Filled with intimate family history and written with candor and remarkable personal insight, here is a deeply resilient American story.

Genres: Politics, Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Biography, Audiobook, American

1 pages, Audio CD

Expected publication March 10, 2026

About the author

Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician. He currently serves as the 40th Governor of California, elected to office in 2019, after serving as the 49th Lieutenant Governor of California from 2011 to 2019 and as the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011, the city's youngest mayor in 100 years. In addition to his political career, Newsom is an entrepreneur and the founder of the PlumpJack wine store, which grew into the PlumpJack Group, managing over 20 businesses, including wineries, restaurants, and hotels. Newsom was born and raised in and around San Francisco and attended Santa Clara University. He currently resides in Fair Oaks, California, with his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and their four children. Newsom was diagnosed as a child with dyslexia, which continues to affect him as an adult and was the driving force behind his debut children's picture book, Ben and Emma's Big Hit.

Reviews

[Doug Flaherty]

Young Man In a Hurry is an eye-opening memoir by a politician who writes like a Pulitzer prize winning writer. I haven't finished the pre-publication copy I received, totally by surprise, in the mail. What I have read displays an individual who is open, frank, and candid about his rough early years, and the loving support from his mother. His list of humane political legislative victories to the present would be a victory for a politician twenty years his senior. This is a wonderful read, filled with human interest details that far outpace politics.

As the governor says-- it was 150 years from Policeman to Politician, as he remarks on his great-great-grandfather, a policeman. The fact that my mother's father came from Cork, has nothing to do with my positive review. Gavin Newsome's work is truly praiseworthy.

Prof. Doug Flaherty

[Ian Kayanja · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Young Man in a Hurry,” for a political memoir, is actually quite interesting. Where the book does well is Newsom detailing how he is a broken man coming from broken people. It is the story of life. We are all crooked, broken people trying to love our crooked and broken neighbors.

Where the book falls flat is in Newsom’s insecurity in confronting his own immense privilege. He paints his success as something of grit and courage, when it is also, in part, who his family knew — whether Newsom wants to admit it or not.

I admire the vulnerability in Newsom to write this book. But it is clear there is still vanity within the man, and the myth he is attempting to create.

[Jessica Doss · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Great Gavini! I wished there were more pages. Excellent writing. I was enthralled throughout. It was funny and witty and raw. I cannot say enough how much I loved this book! Gavin, please be our next president!

[Andrew Shaffner · Rating 1 out of 5]

His writing skills are apparently as bad as his self proclaimed reading skills. What a bore…

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

He did have help writing this book, but it is his story. I enjoyed it - seemed truthful and not too much puffery.

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a life long Californian who voted for Gavin Newsom for both Lt. Governor and Governor, I wanted to read this books to better understand his story. People have stories, and the decisions they make come from the history of their story. You learn about his relationships with his mother and father. You learn about his connection to prominent families in the bay area but not because he himself was rich. In fact Newsom comes from humble beginnings. As a human being if our heart is in the right place, the decisions we make end up being good for other human beings. In a state of 40 million people, the largest state in the union, the most diverse state in the union, and the 4th largest economy in the world, it would be a miss for Newsom not to run for President. He has the most experience of any candidate running by far.

It's worth the read especially if you are a Californian. What comes across to me in this book, is how proud Newsom is of being a Californian.

[Linda LaDuc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book—free with no explanation— in the mail 4 days ago, and I read it during our most recent New England blizzard. I found this memoir to be interesting and honest. Rarely do politicians expose their worst mistakes, secret doubts, and existential questions, but Gavin Newsom did just that in this book. I think the struggles he has with serious dyslexia have been critical to his success—he learned to manage his mind. He describes having the gift and curse of living across wealth divides, and how he built his businesses one step at a time, adapting and collaborating and getting the best advice. It's rather a humble narrative, one that inspires hope.

[Mirae · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. As a Bay Area resident for the past 41 years, this was a must-read for me. I learned a lot about Gavin Newsom that I didn’t know, but could have done without all the descriptions of vacationing with the Gettys in his youth. It appears that it DID take a village to raise him. I admire him for honoring all the people in that village, Gettys and otherwise.

My favorite part? His recounting of what is was like to ride around with Trump touring the devastation after the Paradise and Woolsey fires when he was governor-elect. I respect him and his ghostwriter for the show-don’t-tellness of that passage.

Thanks to the publisher for shipping the hardcover to me before its release.

[Cindy]

As has become my style, I tend not to give a rating to memoirs and I have decided to do the same with this one. It was definitely an interesting listen and he is definitely going to run for president (no, he doesn’t say that, but this book makes it self evident). He had an unusual upbringing and beyond those statements. I’m not sure what to make of this book. I believe he is trying to air much of his dirty laundry in advance of a presidential campaign. And his dirty laundry made for a very entertaining read or in my case, listen.

[Laura, still reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading about Gavin’s life and his perspective on how he came to be what he is today. I particularly liked listening to it in Gavin’s gravelly voice (hubba hubba!). I went to school with Jen, so I was really interested to hear about his life after he met her. Also, I was living in San Francisco when Gavin was mayor. So I feel a bit intertwined with him in having seen his rise in California politics. I wish him, Jen, and their kids all the best!

📚❤️

[Cynthia Judkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished this autobiography (audio) just in time to hear him speak tomorrow night.