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Sen. John Fetterman to pen political memoir with ‘Friday Night Lights’ author

Pennlive.Com
By Pennlive.Com
2 Min Read Jan. 17, 2024 | 2 years Ago
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Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s unconventional political career, along with his many personal battles, sounds like the stuff of Shakespeare. Now, it will be a book that the hoodie-wearing Democrat is planning to write, with the help of “Friday Night Lights” author Buzz Bissinger.

All this is according to a report in Semafor by their media writer Max Tani.

Citing two unnamed sources, Tani posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Crown Publishing has commissioned the autobiography to be titled “Unfettered.”

Tani described it as a “political memoir focusing on (Fetterman’s) political rise and his struggles with mental health.”

Bissinger, a former reporter with The Philadelphia Inquirer, is on board as the co-author, according to Tani.

Fetterman, who grew up in York, is the former mayor of Braddock in western Pa., where his US Senate website says he “worked to rebuild his community, creating jobs, stopping gun violence, getting youth engaged, and bringing creative urban policy solutions” during 13 years in office there.

In 2018, Fetterman was elected as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, serving with Gov. Tom Wolf. In November 2022, he defeated former TV doctor Mehmet Oz for the U.S. Senate despite suffering a stroke during the campaign. He was sworn in as the Keystone State’s junior senator on Jan. 3, 2023.

Soon after taking office, Fetterman took an extended leave of absence and checked himself into Walter Reed Hospital to deal with his deep clinical depression.

Bissinger is best known for his Texas football tome, “Friday Night Lights,” which chronicled the 1988 season of the Permian High football team in Odessa — a community consumed by the high school gridiron.

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