“From the Corner of the Oval:” A Job Landed by Craigslist

From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein

Beck Dorey-Stein is not unlike any young adult fresh out of school and focused on herself, her friends and her love life. Her boyfriend shenanigans and drinking escapades are typical and par for the course. But her job was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and captured in her memoir, From the Corner of the Oval.(Spiegel & Grau).

Living in Washington and trying to make ends meet, she casually answers an ad for a job as a stenographer at a law firm on Craigslist. They follow up asking for a cover letter;  she refuses. They still bring her in for a test, and then a subsequent interview. She makes a halfhearted effort, but then regretting her course writes to apologize. She gets this message back:

Hi Rebecca,

I understand you’re busy.  For transparency’s sake, I wanted to let you know this is a job at the White House, and you’d be traveling with the President on his domestic and international trips.  Let me know if this changes things.

Bernice

This very email changes Beck’s trajectory in life and in love as she embarks on a crazy journey with the White House staff and President Obama’s team.

Dorey-Stein shares tidbits of insight and glimpses of President Obama and his staff through her eyes as she tells her personal story of struggles and growth, personal and professional, with this incredible, little known insider view as the colorful backdrop.

If you enjoy memoirs, have an interest in hearing about what is is like to travel the world with the President of the United States, or want to read about one young woman’s journey to find herself and happiness, it’s worth picking up Dorey-Stein’s tale.

Still want to hear more from Beck Dorey-Stein? BookTrib is partners with Penguin Random House, so you can listen straight from the author. Dorey-Stein discusses tips for writing memoirs and more on her White House experience.