Amy Klobuchar's forthcoming memoir to detail cancer survival, presidential run

Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has a memoir coming out in May that will detail her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, 2020 presidential run and experiences at the U.S. Capitol when insurrectionists stormed the building.

"The Joy of Politics: Surviving Cancer, a Campaign, a Pandemic, an Insurrection, and Life's Other Unexpected Curveballs" — announced Thursday by St. Martin's Publishing Group — chronicles a tumultuous few years in American history from the perspective of Klobuchar, Minnesota's three-term senior senator who was a Democratic presidential candidate in 2020.

"Senator Klobuchar has been in the room where it happens — on the Senate floor for critical votes during the pandemic, at the debate podium during one of the most critical presidential elections in U.S. history, and in the Capitol on January 6, 2021," read an announcement from St. Martin's.

On that day, as the soon-to-be chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, Klobuchar had a central role in the certification of Joe Biden's victory when rioters breached the Capitol building. Behind the scenes, she pushed to make sure the process resumed after the Capitol was cleared, culminating in a fist bump with then-Vice President Mike Pence as they certified the results in the early hours of the following morning.

Klobuchar's new book also details her own personal struggles during that time, including her husband John Bessler's harrowing experience after contracting COVID-19 and her own March 2021 diagnosis with breast cancer. While she was undergoing treatment for her cancer, her father Jim lost his battle with Alzheimer's disease.

"The theme of the book is resilience, yes, but also the resilience of a nation. It is a story of getting through — to use my daughter's words — a lot, and moving forward with joy," Klobuchar said of her new book in a release.

The book will be available May 9 in hardcover, ebook and audiobook.