Lifetime and opportunities and i wanted to tell a story that could be uplifting. And certainly people will face china challenges rather a typo help should understand that those challenges dont necessarily have to define us. I was blessed to live in the great United States of america. And i hope to share in the story with other people. Peter the book is relatively revealingly will go through some of the things. But was that tough to expose yourself like that. Joni it was very hard. Ive been through an number of significant challenges in my lifetime. I was raped when i was a young woman rated with my first boyfriend. In a really suffered from that. And then moving on and going through an episode of Domestic Violence and just really difficult time in my marriage. Those are all things that i really did not want to share publicly. But i was obviously going through a very public divorce a couple of years ago. That information came out through that process. And so many other women and men whod reached out to me and said you know what, these challenges, you went on to be a lt. Competitor know youre the united state senator. Is good for other people to hear that you can go through this life altering event but still overcome them and move on to better days. That is what i hope that i can share with some of the readers is that we do have challenges in your lifetime but there are opportunities. In the next day was a new day that we can find joyce in your lifetime. Peter enabled the daughter of the heartland copyright that people tend to pay an inordinate amount of attention to women legislators private lives. Joni absolutely they do. And from everything that you wear, the style of your hair. The color of your hair. All of that. And then maybe if your mother how are you raising your children. My you are away at work when you should be at home. Those are situations that i do not hear men talked about. But certainly women receive a lot of attention with our personal lives. I think that is totally unfair. And especially when we are serving in the same chambers and same body as our male counterparts. This looked upon differently. I dont think it is justified and i dont think people should be personalized with a dont know or dont do it with the men. Peter tells loretto,. Joni is a beautiful community. Is the heart of the county. It is our county seat buried and with the communitys that i raised during year. Out went to a school in stanton pino iowa which was adjacent to red oak and i was raised on a farm northeast of roanoke. And it was just us a tremendous experience in such a sense of community in rural iowa. Were all very proud of what we come from. We call it the iowa night spring will reaching out, and your neighbor. It was a great place to be raised. I had truly wonderful childhood growing up on the farm. It was a lot of hard work. Out of expected from us but at the same time, growing and developing in the type of community was really important. Peter back to your book, life on the farm, constant battle for survival. Joni yeah. My parents experienced that first hand. And many of our neighbors dead. So i was raised on the farm during the 70s and 80s my father still and on that farm today. North of stanton in roanoke. With they went through in the 80s, was very difficult for the farm economy, coming down around them. And it really trying to make ends meet. In such a constrained environment someone that started a business. He started working with heavy equipment and doing church work. Further farmers around the area. My mother, was like brother was in school, she took on the job Part Time Job in town. So they found other ways to bring in come in and support the farm. It is for us kids. We made it through. But those times are challenging. You never know when youre next crop is going to come through. There might be a drought or tornado. All of those natural events that can really impact the farm economy. And so you drive through, be as resilient as you can and like i said, that sense of community and helping your neighbors. I share one story in the book where it wasnt a National Disaster but there was a farmer that had been injured by a cow. Its an accident. She pushed up against him and documented the fence. And he was hospitalized he died from his injuries. And so his wife really needed the support. So a local radio had an announcement on it and within hours people converged on that farm combines, wagons and tractors about the harvest and. So that is what it would not have to worry about that. Thats a sense of community that we have in iowa. Very proud of that. I know other states have that too. But thats the way i was raised. Help when needed. Just blessed to live in such a nation that provides an opportunity. Peter we talk about constant struggle for the survival. After 2015 state of the union address, you give the republican response and he talked about putting bread bags on your feet. And he became notorious for that. Joni i did. It was so funny because i look back my childhood. And mother was thrifty out of necessity. We had to be thrifty. Well ahead when good pair of shoes. Or church or for school. Anybody is been raised on a farm in iowa understands that when it rains, it gets very muddy. And waiting for a school bus, or going to church. On mother and bread bags of our shoes to protect them and keep them clean. We get on the school bus with her bread bags but all of the other kids have to do that too. So it really didnt matter to me. If a certainly, something that now that i look around in our communities. Parents hard as thrifty or maybe they dont utilize things like that print everybody is very conscientious about maybe being embarrassed about not having maybe with the other school kids have. And be proud of what you have and then protect what you have. It all about then, something that might parents really struggled to earn those dollars. We certainly didnt want to waste them. And thus i carried on with my greatest efforts in trying to be a federal watchdog. But it was amazing though that some people would tease me about that. And all good humor. But then there were some folks that were very mean about it too. And made fun of me because i was growing up that way. It certainly theyd that folks on the left, their being tolerant but when its a republican, is going through the same hardships as a child, that became the object. But its really unfortunate that we have this types of things in our society and were all human beings. Weve all gone through different challenges. We all go through different learning points in my time we should respect each other for a different point of view. Peter of the heartland in your book, one of the themes is the cohesiveness of the 26 women who served in the United States senate. The republicans and the democrats. Is the same time, we are yours coming to get you. In 2014 when you are running for the senate. Joni and this thing about politics. And one thing that you have to keep in mind, anytime youre entering into this, absolute bizarre world is that not everybody will agree on everything. That you have to have again. We obviously had very different politics. With understand it, do not take it personal. We can share passions and we can drive onto several goals we share those passions. But outside of that, just let it roll off your back. And thats what i have had to do. Many times over but its okay. I will still consider those women collaborators. I will consider them friends especially when we have those shared passions. Peter is a pretty tight sorority among the women. Joni it really is. Our ideologies very. All across the spectrum. Republicans and democrats we do this in a bipartisan fashion. Every couple of months we get together we have a womens dinner. It will be hosted by Susan Collins or diane or i hosted one this last fall. That we can do to get an we dont talk politics. We talk about our families is something that we can it really brings us together. So while we may be on opposite sides of one piece of legislation we know that we can always find a path forward on project and work on other opportunities. Joni me is actually on her way to dc right now. I will beat picking or backup to the United States military academy this weekend. Where she will report in for her next year. She is a cadet at west point. And well go into the army here the next couple of years. Im very proud of her. Shes extremely intelligent and smart young woman. But trying to raise a daughter that is selfconfident, does propel forward some very proud of her. Peter following in her mothers footsteps pretty. Joni i think she will go on to do even more. Peter senator ernst, you wrote as a child, that your goals were to be a nurse and a farmers wife. But it didnt turn out that way did it. Joni now, it sure didnt. In one of those things was ms. America too. See five oh yeah i forgot about that. Joni i was talking about that with a friend. And i did not became a nurse. And didnt become a farmers wife. And it didnt become ms. America. And my friend said jenny, youre such an underachiever. Our paths change. And we certainly can look at various career fields through the eyes of a child. I so admire people that are in healthcare. And a lot of that was maybe alongside my mother. She is not college educated. But she was the mother of two children that had juvenile diabetes. My brother my sister both had to be on insulin shots in the studio. And i always watch my mother and my brother and my sister the shots. In the morning and the evening. I admired that she was caring for my brother and sister. I admired that about my mother that she was able to do so much with little in whole or Families Together and i always thought that that was really noble. I want to go into health services. And chose a different career path and i ended up going into counseling and job training. Working with various populations like those who had been underemployed or those in long term unemployed. And while i set those goals as a child, i know i have made significant differences in my state and in my nation by choosing a different career path. Peter how does the military become part of your life for 22 years. Joni boy always had this friend. And to my family, he was in the National Guard. It was a recruiter. So when i was younger, he would say payout will come talk to you about the National Guard. And i said i dont think i can do that. My father had served in the National Guard. Many years ago. I dont really remember that period of his life so much. Just the stories. The really took me into the military was Agricultural Exchange to the soviet union in the 1980s. The late 1980s. On that exchange when i found, more students, we lived on a collective farm in ukraine. In the family estate with, they didnt have a car, no refrigerator, no running water. No indoor plumbing. I could go on and on about what they did not have. And even though i grew up on a very small part, i had refrigerator. I have running water. We had attractors. They did not have those things. So two different worlds. I thought my gosh, it would offer their citizens at the state level of opportunity. That was not true in the soviet union. So when we got together, the iowa students and we get together with them in a collective farm with those citizens and we went to the community. And on that first night, the first question that they wanted to know was what is it like to be an american and it just struck me. I think that point, that so many people want what we have in this great nation. They hunger for it. And through the course of that exchange, it really emphasized to me how proud i am of the values and freedoms and opportunities this country gives us. I decided, was 19 years old. But i decided that i dont want to take it for granted anymore. I have to get back to my country. And so when i got back to iowa and it started to explore that our ftc programs. And i went on to serve than 23 years in the Army Reserves rated and truly was one of the greatest honors of my life. Peter and in fact you are the first female combat veteran to serve in the United States senator. You saw action in iraq. Tell us more. Speech of so we were stationed in kuwait and i was the commander of a transportation company. So we would deliver supplies. We would pick supplies up and we would take them to warehouses in kuwait and they been taken into physical packages and then we would deliver those supplies throughout kuwait and up into a rat and into Baghdad International airports as well as other sites. In many other places like that, airport space. But it was a very difficult time. It was the first year of the war read had just gone into iraq. It was very chaotic at the time. I guess that is a good way to describe it. And that first trip up into iraq, my company didnt even have a match principally did, i knew there was a National Guard that had already made a trip to Baghdad International airport. So i went to the Company Commander and asked if he would come into a briefing and share with us the path that we get to Baghdad International airport rating came down and sat down with me. Any bill that is handdrawn map and he shared it with us. And might driver copied that hand drawn map down so they would note were some of the physical locations work on the route. So we would make sure we get to the right place. To talk about playing with the seat of your pants. Here we are navigating at the early parts of the war through iraq on the handdrawn map. My drivers, they would write down things. And then we would share the information in kuwait with are the drivers and everybody had a good picture of her we were going. Eventually, that ran big deli type of math, basic and when the schema and, playing with my personal credit card and bought all of them. Because if we couldnt have a map provided by the United States government for heaven sakes, elise we never rand mcnally and it would us where we need to go. We deal with what we have. There are a number of other National Guard units. Some more presentation units. And we were permanently stationed in iraq and i had the advantage of the station in kuwait. We just ran back and forth. But those other units. When we redeployed, i redeployed with my entire unit. That was something that we have to recognize the sacrifices all of the way around. And theres different levels. In the some of them lost soldiers and it was devastating. And where the combat infantry patches. Some of them are supply sergeants, some are truck drivers. We are all vulnerable when we go into a combat zone. So god bless them. And i was just very fortunate to come home with everyone. Peter we mentioned that you were the first female combat sergeant to serve as a United States senator. I would guess to say that you are the first probably senator to be ever be paid. [laughter]. Joni probably. [laughter]. Yes pretty i was paid. I was on the battalion commander. And that nearly three years served as as a commander. We had annual training in wisconsin. Where all of my units Work Together as one time for that two week annual training. So i had my units out there and then i had one company of military policeman. We had this phenomenal, getting ready to exit. I was trying to get him to reenlist. He was a phenomenal young leader. He said well, he said man, i will reenlist if they pay you. If they tase you are you and i said okay. It is a deal for you contains me. I feel we reenlist principally did. Went into the taser training. However the training with him, with the military police company. And we had a phenomenal commander. And he would first pretty want to make sure he was the first one to be tased. So he was tased and then i was number two in the lineup. Any tase me brady was a horrible experience. I dont recommend it to anyone. We did retain a brilliant young mco. As i was happy to go through it. Now its time that i was happy to go through it in order to keep one of the best and the brightest of the army National Guard. Peter senator joni ernst, who was connie money you spend time in your book writing about her. Joni was my first opponent in an election. And thats what i really understood this when i really learned why it is important to run for elected office. We had one who is not recycled to the public. Or respectful to the other elected officials. And is quite a stir over the job she was doing in the county courthouse. And she had actually after one supervisors meeting, the county auditor served as the board of supervisors. After one meeting, she struck another supervisor. Physically and the other supervisor. She was arrested. She was acquitted. But it created such an uproar. It was mistrust. There was anger in our community. And so i was asked to run against the incumbent republican auditor. And i did choose to gauge that election. If and we went through a very Difficult Campaign cycle. It was very bizarre. But in the end, i did win the election. And when i went into the office, her entire staff, they quite right so they lofgren i knew they were going to do that right and that actually, that was okay. Is i was able to start fresh and hire my own staff on board. He had emptied all of the rolodex is. At the time, we kept the phone all of the important contacts. In rolodex is. They had emptied them. And they replace them with blank cards. They had taken all of the court house information of them into one for completely unlabeled. I could go on and on and on. You wouldnt think adults would engage in these things. And it was like it was like a brigade with through the county. I made a point to engage the other elected officials in the courthouse. I was able to open our doors to visitors in the public coming back in. And it was really of a time of healing. A much about bringing people together and fighting a path forward. Not being ugly to people. We can be kind to each other and we can show respect for even one week dont agree. It was a wonderful learning experience for me. I enjoyed working so much working with people my home county. It hearing some of the challenges that they had rated in the public it would come in pretty just lean on the people in my office ensure the news of the day. And all that you can take away from being part of a community. It was a real lesson. In the ugliness of politics, but it also the wonderful things they can be achieved we are all pulling in the same direction. Peter and then in 2014, to the United States senate. Was your husband at times supportive of your political career. Joni he was. It was often on, when it suited him yes and when it didnt, no. So it really became especially contentions especially once i got into the United States senate. And while he was very used to being the center of everyones attention, and wonderful career. He was used to being the present charge and admired by everyone. I think through the course of being in the senate, the attention shifted. I was very focused on work. And that people work very focused on what i was working on. Not what he was working on. It became more of a jealousy i think. It was really unfortunate. And so the issues that had already existed in our marriage, just became exponential bully that much bigger. And so in public, we all put on a smile we all have a resiliency deep get that stiff upper lip. The American Farmers does. When it became so difficult and obviously he chose a different path. We did divorce. It was heartbreaking for me. Twentysix years that i spent with someone i loved. And then to be left behind with him taking on any family immediately. It was very tough to deal with especially as i try to work on legislation for iowa. And preparing for the next campaign season. Peter senator with the Des Moines Register broke the news of your divorce. Did you feel violated and what was the reaction you got. Joni i did. I felt horribly violated. And when the information came out about the Domestic Violence, the episode that it happened in my marriage, it was not something i wanted to slide my family, why would stay with that person who would abuse me. Like that. I didnt want my daughters to have to relive that experience but she was young when it happened. When i returned to washington d. C. I was really, really nervous at being cornered in the hallway. The press are merciless about following you down the hallways and asking you all kinds of questions. And i was so nervous about it. And my staff was like you dont answer any questions just keep walking. You dont have to listen to them. And so we got to the bottom of the stairs there, and coming enough they kind of just step back, they kind of lowered their heads a little bit. A couple of them gave me as i would describe as a shy smile. But they let me pass without saying a word. And i was very grateful. I was very grateful to them. Stu went to reactions you write about in daughter of the heartland. President trump and Bernie Sanders. Guest yes, yes. Two extraordinary men, two totally different people. But both of them reached out to me. And President Trump called me after he had learned about that information. And he was so he has always been very good to me. He was very empathetic. And he just said joni, you are going to do great things. We love you, im sorry this happened to you. And the same from Bernie Sanders pretty caught me outside of the dirksen building one day as are both walking back from votes and he pulled me aside and private because i had a staff member with me any pulled me aside and said joni, this never shouldve happened to you, im sorry. So, in the oddest of places you can find comfort and support. And i think that again is one of the important lessons that we all need to understand, we are all human beings, we have all been through the challenges we have all but had significant hurts in our lifetime. And that we can still be supportive and care for one anothers human beings. That is what President Trump and senator sanders exhibited for m me. Host and finally senator ernst, do you still force your staff to march with you at 430 in the morning . Joni we have now bought back the time they now start at 5 00 a. M. [laughter] it is all volunteer. We still have a lot of people that turn out to engage in or marches down on the mall. Ive only had two other members of congress go with me, martha makes sally and thom tillis. He did he made his entire staff go on that Early Morning march. After we do that i present all the participants with my challenge coin. And they got done and they got a challenge coin. Thom tillis told me later in the day theyd started grumbling about it before they started marching. But later in the day that was all they could talk about. They had bragging rights and they were telling all of the other offices theyd gone out with senator ernst at 5 00 a. M. In the morning to the mall. So it is a fun activity. Its not about politics really, its just about honoring our veterans. Experiencing the fights of those War Memorials on the mall. Remembering them for their sacrifice. And then just the common watery and getting to know them on the hill. Host and im fortunate we are out of time, senator joni ernst, republican from iowa her new book daughter of the heart and paid shes a member of the Senate Leadership team as well. Thank you for joining us for a little while and book tv. Joni you bet, thanks so much peter. Your son look at some Publishing Industry news. Last week the Justice Department filed a claim for the royalties associate with former Trump AdministrationNational Security advisor john boltons recent book about his time in the white house. The motion, which would include mr. Boltons two milliondollar advance argosy book was released before the completion of the prepublication review. Book editor James Silverman died last week at the age of 93. Mr. Silberman had such officers such as james baldwin, David Halberstam and his career at random house and simon schuster. In other news the guardian reports that Ernest Hemingways published works contains hundreds of errors that have never been corrected. American literature scholar who studied the manuscripts at the president ial library reported that the grammatical mistakes were made by editors or typesetters went publishing new additions and did not reflect hemingways and original intent for it also news the buckskin report said books sales were up 20 for the week ending july 25. Adult nonfiction sales rose 23 and were led by mary trumps book thats critical of the president entitled too much and never enough. Following the lead of other upcoming book festivals the brooklyn books festival said its going to be held virtually from september 28 to october 5. The literary that will have over 150 authors. Book tv will continue to bring you new programs and news you can watch all of our archive programs at any time on booktv. Org. During a virtual that counts on Foreign Relations talked about state of the world and the Foreign Policy challenges facing the United States. Heres a portion of that discussion. Connect the pandemic tells us first and foremost that the world matters. And that is perhaps an obvious thing for the council on Foreign Relations. But obviously not for everybody. What happens around the world does not stay there. In this case it was a small city in china, wuhan were a virus broke out, got worse ultimately spread through china into the United States and elsewhere around the world. 911 it was terrorist trained and afghanistan. Other various times it was what we have seen with Climate Change coming from everywhere, financial contagion to the surveillance of the country so what this should tell us is these two oceans on the atlantic in the pacific are not motes theres no drawbridge to pull up, sovereignty whatever else it is is not the same thing as security. We are affected by what happens in the world, Foreign Policy is in turn what we do affects the world. I think there is a loop. The most Important Message to take care is the world matters and isolationism, denial sticking our heads in the sand whatever else you want to call it simply not a serious or viable strategy. See when you talk at length about the interconnectedness of the globe and the interdependence. How has the american response to this Global Crisis reflected some of the things you bring up . The notable absence of the u. S. In the european convening to tackle the vaccine. For covid19. Guest this is not been a good experience or demonstration of connectedness with the world. But we are connected whether we like it or not. Globalization is many things, its about it choice in how we respond to that is the choice. As you say, we chose not to participate in the european led effort to pool resources intellectual and financial to work toward a vaccine. It seems to me that probably reduces the chance that it will succeed or succeed quickly. It also means that if it were to succeed, will be very hardpressed to make the argument we should be toward the front of the queue. I think others would say you werent there when we needed you and now suddenly you need this, why should we favor you over others . I think that has hurt us. I think even more of what has hurt us has been the example we set. Certain part of what Foreign Policy is about is not what diplomats say and do come its not what soldiers say and do is important is those things are, its the example we set. The functioning and vibrancy of our democracy. When we have equality for all americans. When the economy grows at a healthy clip or in this case how we respond to a foreign challenge. And no one around the world gets up in the morning and says i want to do this just like america. I really respect how they are doing it. Inconceivable that that sentiment is being expressed. To watch the wesley Program Visit our website booktv. Org and search richard haas or the title of his book the world. Now im book tv Harvard University africanamerican studies Walter Johnson looks at race and class issues in america to the history of st. Louis. He is joining conversation by roxanne dunbarortiz in a Virtual Event with with harvard bookstore. Thank you all for being here tonight, roxanne and i wanted to be with a moment of silence for all of the victims of Police Violence and rt