Sen. John Fetterman to release memoir in November

Benjamin Kail, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jul 30, 2025

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, the Braddock Democrat whose independent streak and grapples with health issues have made headlines since before he came to Washington, will release a memoir in November.

The "candid" memoir, titled "Unfettered," will share the story of Mr. Fetterman's rise from AmeriCorps and business into politics, Crown, an imprint of Penguin Random House, announced Wednesday.

The memoir delves into his election as Braddock mayor, his time as lieutenant governor and first two-plus years as a senator. The publisher said the book will include "unvarnished details of his life-threatening stroke and struggles with depression, the truth about what really happens in Washington, and his vision for navigating our divided country's future."

Mr. Fetterman, easily one of Capitol Hill's most recognizable figures at 6'8" and typically clad in hoodie and shorts, has risen as one of Washington's leading pro-Israel voices while also rankling progressives who say he's too often criticized his own party and sided with the Trump administration and Republicans.

But he has continued to advocate for the LGBTQ community, union workers, and industry, small businesses and homeowners in Pennsylvania. His proposal to expand Pennsylvania's home repair grant and loan program nationwide is included in a Senate housing bill that has garnered rare bipartisan support this week in a divided Congress.

Protesters in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia earlier this year said Mr. Fetterman — and Republican Sen. Dave McCormick, with whom he's formed a solid working and personal relationship — were not responsive enough to their constituents. Former Fetterman staffers also expressed concerns about the senator's health, behavior and lack of interest in the chamber's processes, according to multiple reports.

"Fetterman reveals, for the first time, the full story of a life and career marked by battles, from his work with community leaders to revitalize Braddock to his recovery from the stroke that nearly ended his political career, to his lifelong struggles with the depression that landed him in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and nearly ended his life," the publisher said Wednesday. "At each step, Fetterman displays a rare level of candor for a sitting senator, sharing insights into the difficult and nonlinear path to mental health, the strain his challenges have placed on his family, the auditory processing issues he's still overcoming, and more — all in the hope of paying it forward for anyone who has struggled with the depths of depression in their own life."

The publisher described the senator — who worked with "Friday Night Lights" author Buzz Bissinger, according to Semafor — as the "consummate anti-politician."

"A contrarian by nature, he quickly developed a reputation as a pugilist willing to take on Republicans and Democrats alike, in public if necessary," Crown said. "Little did the world know that his biggest fight was being waged in private, and often inside his own mind."

News of the memoir comes on the heels of Mr. Fetterman's wife, Braddock Free Store founder Gisele Braddock, touring her own book, "Radical Tenderness."

Ms. Fetterman told author and television personality Meghan McCain in a recent interview that she would not be supportive of her husband making a White House run.

Pennsylvania's senior senator is up for re-election in 2028. Along with rival Gov. Josh Shapiro, Mr. Fetterman has been named by Democratic and Republican observers as one of several prominent Democrats who may seek higher office.