While I’m waiting to get my hands on the new West Wing book, this one popped up in my book recommendations, and I figured why not. A fun memoir written by Obama’s former Deputy Chief of Staff, Alyssa Mastromonaco, what’s not to like?

I flew through this one, it was an absolutely engaging read that kept me laughing and gave a fun peek into Obama’s West Wing. It also conjured a positive outlook on public service and that politics don’t have to be grubby all the time, tying in nicely, with my desire to read The West Wing book (and perhaps revisit the series).

With a lot of humor, Mastromonaco takes us through her career, and her personal life, cataloguing and sharing triumphs and failures with equal honesty. But not only that, she seeks to inspire with her words, to get more women involved in politics, governing, policy and decision-making.

I was absolutely delighted with the stories she shared, They added a deeper layer of humanity and humor to my favorite real president (so far, and Bartlett gets the fictional win). She also provides insight into the way somethings work around the real White House, and the decisions that led her there, her work on Kerry’s campaign, Obama’s presidential run, and her almost unprecedented decision to walk away from the White House.

With anecdotes both funny and poignant, she opens up about cats, her IBS, her career, and her life in general.

Mastromonaco tells a great tale, with my only real issue being that it felt way too short, I was just getting into her stories, wanting to know more about what she did in the White House, and then it was over.

Through it all, she’s personable, funny, and shares wonderful asides throughout. In fact the entire narrative puts real humanity to names we may have only heard in passing, and makes those in government more than just a faceless mass creating policy but people in the service of something they believe in, something greater than themselves.

Talk like that means I really do need to revisit the West Wing soon, or get my hands on that book. Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? is a light, but fantastic read, and reminds us that we are all involved in politics and decisions, whether we want to be or not, and that you don’t have to be an ivy league graduate to have an impact. You just have to believe.