Senator John Fetterman, who has battled questions about his health and fitness for office following a stroke and his struggles with depression, is releasing a memoir this fall, according to his publisher, Crown, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
The memoir, “Unfettered,” is due out Nov. 11, and was described in a news release as “raw and visceral” and an “unapologetic account of his unconventional life.”
Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, served as the mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, and became a prominent national political figure after winning a seat in the Senate in 2022. He stood out in Washington with his 6-foot 8-inch frame and his unconventional style of dressing in a black hoodie and shorts. He’s also made headlines with his outspokenness and willingness to clash not just with Republicans but with his own party.
During the Senate campaign, Fetterman suffered a stroke. In the aftermath, he was weighed down by depression, which he has battled for most of his life. He was hospitalized in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for six weeks to receive mental health treatment.
After his discharge, Fetterman was outspoken about his depression and how it nearly ended his life. But his mental and physical health struggles led to frequent absences from the Senate, and criticism from fellow lawmakers. Fetterman has pushed back against questions about his ability to function effectively in his role, and argued that critics are using his openness about his mental health condition against him.
In “Unfettered,” Fetterman will reflect on the dramatic moments in his political career, and the hurdles he’s faced following his stroke, including auditory processing issues, which have made communication difficult, and the strain on his family.
The memoir will also cover his early life and 13-year career as the mayor of Braddock, a small blue-collar Pennsylvania town that Fetterman worked to revitalize, and his time as lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, when he pushed for marijuana legalization and criminal justice reform.
Fetterman is collaborating on the book with Buzz Bissinger, the best-selling author of “Friday Night Lights,” who has written about Pennsylvania politics before in his book “A Prayer for the City,” about Philadelphia under Mayor Ed Rendell. He has also written and spoken about his own mental health and addiction issues.
In a statement through Crown, Bissinger said he provided a template for the memoir, but that Fetterman delivered the content. “The book is John’s,” he said.
Alexandra Alter writes about books, publishing and the literary world for The Times.
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