My mother (bottom row, center) at age sixteen with her secondary school field hockey team.On their wedding day in 1968, my parents, Jim Power, age thirty-one, and Vera Delaney, age twenty-four, outside the church in Cork City, Ireland. They are flanked by her sister Patricia Delaney and his brother-in-law Vincent Pippet.My early years in Dublin, with Mum and Dad.With my younger brother, Stephen, in 1978, the year before we left Ireland for the United States.Mum and Eddie in the late 1970s.After arriving in Pittsburgh in 1979, I chopped off my red hair, practiced an American accent, and quickly immersed myself in the foreign sport of baseball.In 1983, not long after Mum and Eddie moved Stephen and me to Atlanta, Georgia.With Eddie, who was full of mischief and who raised me to appreciate the power and magic of storytelling.As the starting shooting guard on the Lakeside High School basketball team, I spent countless afternoons and weekends in solitude shooting baskets.With my college boyfriend Schu during our trip through Europe in the summer of 1990.Mum, Stephen, and Eddie at my college graduation in 1992.Fred Cuny, renowned as the “Master of Disaster” for his relief work in more than thirty crisis zones. He would successfully engineer a dangerous operation to restore water to besieged Sarajevans. Cuny FamilyJonathan Moore, a former US official who served under six presidents, and Mort Abramowitz, a retired US diplomat who became my first boss when I interned at the Carnegie Endowment. They became two of my most important mentors and influences.In August of 1993, en route to Bosnia for the first time, with journalist George Stamkoski and my friend Ben Cohen (not pictured). The handmade “PRESS” placard in the window of our rental car was intended as a safety precaution.I joined George and Ben in interviewing a group of Bosnian military officers in Bihać, a small Muslim enclave in the northwest corner of Bosnia that was surrounded on all sides by Serb forces.On a reporting trip to central Bosnia with Laura Pitter, who was instrumental in encouraging me to move to the Balkans to become a foreign correspondent.Traveling with Croatian journalist Hrvoje Hranjski on a UN flight from Zagreb, Croatia, to Sarajevo, Bosnia, in April of 1994.Interviewing UN Force Commander Michael Rose in Sarajevo in 1995.Writing a story in Sarajevo in 1995.My closest friends in Bosnia were a small group of female reporters, including (from left) Laura Pitter, Elizabeth Rubin, Emma Daly, and Stacy Sullivan.Journalist David Rohde and I interviewing a survivor of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. Geoffrey W. KingCrossing the finish line of the 1995 New York City Marathon. My decision to splash the morbid public service announcement “Remember Srebrenica” across my chest created some confusion along the route.Cornering bemused Hall of Fame Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez at a charity event, where I couldn’t stop myself from giving him a long account of the genocide book I was writing.With US diplomat Richard Holbrooke. Despite turning down his job offer during the Bosnian war, he eventually became a trusted friend and counselor.Eddie and Mum, who have edited dozens of drafts of each of my books, beside piles of chapters that they’ve marked up.One of my most important professional collaborations—and friendships—has been with John Prendergast. In 2004, we crossed the border from Chad into Darfur, Sudan (above), to investigate the genocide there and then, along with Gayle Smith, became involved in the Save Darfur campaign. Jason MaloneySpeaking at a Women for Obama event in the early months of his presidential campaign. Hiroko Masuike/New York Times/ReduxLeading cheers with Obama campaign adviser Austan Goolsbee after Obama won the Iowa Caucus in January of 2008. Des Moines Register/USA Today NetworkPeter YangCass and I started dating in early 2008, spending time writing side-by-side in my Winthrop, Massachusetts, apartment. We were married on July 4th, 2008, in Waterville, Ireland.After pulling an all-nighter to work on his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, President Obama summoned me and his speechwriters Jon Favreau and Ben Rhodes to discuss his new handwritten draft. Pete Souza/The Obama White HouseDeclan Power Sunstein was born in April of 2009, and two months later, he met President Obama for the first time. Pete Souza/The Obama White HouseMum and Eddie visiting the White House in early 2009.President Obama and members of his national security staff discuss Sudan in September of 2010. Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential LibraryAt the memorial service for Richard Holbrooke, who died of a heart attack in 2010. In the years ahead I would find myself constantly wishing I could pick up the phone to seek Holbrooke’s advice. AP Photo/Carolyn KasterWith President Obama, Senior Advisor David Plouffe, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, and Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, discussing Obama’s upcoming trip to the 2011 UN General Assembly. Pete Souza/The Obama White HouseMaría Castro (with Obama and Rían) made it possible for me to work such punishing hours at the White House and the UN. For nine years, at great personal sacrifice, she cared for my kids with indescribable tenderness. Pete Souza/The Obama White HouseIn June of 2013, President Obama nominated me to become US Ambassador to the UN. While Declan sat calmly in Mum’s arms for the ceremony, Rían had other ideas . . . Elliot ThomsonAfter my confirmation hearing ended, four-year-old Declan jumped into my arms, and a pool of photographers descended on the hearing table to capture the shot. After this picture ran in several prominent newspapers, I received notes from women saying how heartened they were to see someone attempting a national security Cabinet role with small children in tow. AP Photo/Cliff OwenOn August 2nd, 2013, Vice President Joe Biden presided over my swearing in as UN ambassador. Presidential Materials Division, National Archives and Records AdministrationPresenting my credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2013. Upon seeing this photo, the French ambassador to the UN asked me mischievously, “You wore your swimsuit to present credentials?” UN Photo/Evan SchneiderThree weeks after I became UN ambassador, the Assad regime in Syria staged a massive chemical weapons attack that killed more than 1,400 people. After a Cabinet meeting on September 12th, 2013, we discussed our next steps in response. Pete Souza/The Obama White HouseAs a former reporter, I retained the habit of bringing my notebooks everywhere and carefully detailing what I heard. Here, in October of 2013 in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, I listened to an internally displaced Congolese woman describe ferocious attacks that drove her from her home. Michelle Nichols/ReutersI had many public battles with Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, but even amid our feuding, I continued to try to work with him to confront shared threats. Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty ImagesIn June of 2015, I visited Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine, to pay respects to the more than one hundred people who were killed by Ukrainian security forces during the massive protests that occurred in late 2013 and early 2014. AP Photo/Sergei ChuzavkovThe US Ambassador to the United Nations is immensely fortunate to be able to rely on four deputy US ambassadors, who rotated at various points during my tenure. Here, I’m pictured with ambassadors David Pressman, Michele Sison, Sarah Mendelson, and Isobel Coleman. United States Mission to the United NationsIn October of 2014, during the height of the Ebola epidemic, I traveled to the three affected countries in West Africa. In Freetown, Sierra Leone, soldiers briefed me on how they had dramatically expanded their ability to safely bury those who had died from Ebola. Michelle Nichols/ReutersIn Monrovia, Liberia, Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and I showed off the “elbow bump” that had replaced handshakes, hugs, and kisses as a safe form of greeting throughout the region. AP Photo/Abbas DullehObama plays soccer with Declan at a Camp David Cabinet retreat. Courtesy Barack Obama Presidential LibraryStephanie SinclairWith Declan and Rían (above) on a typical morning. While my kids generally seemed to delight in engaging foreign ambassadors and UN officials, sometimes they were not in the mood. Here, Rían “poses” with Ban Ki-moon.During my eight years in the Obama administration, I leaned heavily on María Castro, my parents, and friends like John Prendergast (above), Elliot Thomson (above), and Laura Pitter (above). As vital and loving as my support network was, Declan and Rían longed for a time when I could be with them without working on my phone or dealing with a national security intrusion. Elliot ThomsonWhen I arrived at the UN in 2013, women comprised 37 of the 193 ambassadors. I often invited my female colleagues for dinners, cultural events, and substantive discussions. In this gathering, we spent an evening in dialogue with feminist and political activist Gloria Steinem (center left). United States Mission to the United NationsRían and I holiday shopping, with an assist from the head of my security detail. United States Mission to the United NationsEach September, President Obama visited New York for the UN General Assembly and carried out the presidential equivalent of speed-dating with heads of state from around the world. Here, in 2015, Obama, Deputy National Security Adviser Avril Haines, and I hurried into the US Mission to the UN, and in 2014, I spoke with Obama as he chaired a Security Council meeting on ISIS. United States Mission to the United NationsAP Photo/Julie JacobsonAP Photo/Rukmal GamageWhen I traveled overseas, I made a point of adding a stop on each trip to meet with local girls. Here, I played a game called Elle in Sri Lanka, basketball in Nigeria, and soccer in Mexico. AP Photo/Andrew HarnikUnited States Mission to the United NationsIn September of 2015, I had the great fortune of speaking at María’s naturalization as a US citizen.In December of 2015, hearing how rhetoric toward refugees generally and Syrians in particular was growing inflamed, I invited the Al-Teibawis, a newly arrived family of Syrian refugees, to the ambassador’s residence for an American dinner. Brian Harkin/New York Times/ReduxMeeting with a mother and her young child in April of 2016 at a camp in Nigeria for people displaced by Boko Haram violence. By this point, Boko Haram had forced 2.5 million people from their homes. Randy Haniel/AFP/Getty ImagesIn August of 2016, six-year-old Alex Myteberi (left) wrote a letter to President Obama inviting a young Syrian who had survived an airstrike to come live with him in the US. Here, Declan welcomed Alex and his family to the UN for a tour. United States Mission to the United NationsNujeen Mustafa (left) and her sister Nisreen (right) in Berlin in 2016. Nujeen, a Syrian Kurd from Aleppo who has cerebral palsy, rode her wheelchair more than 3,500 miles seeking asylum. United States Mission to the United NationsIn 2016, I visited an English class for newly arrived refugees in Buffalo, New York. One of the students told me, “In America, we found peace.” United States Mission to the United NationsThe relationship between UN ambassadors and Secretaries of State has not always been easy. But Secretary of State John Kerry was a mentor, partner, and friend. AP Photo/Bryan R. SmithI called for the release of twenty female political prisoners in the #Freethe20 campaign. By the time I left government in January of 2017, fourteen of the twenty women we profiled had been freed. Two more would be released from jail the following month. Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesEven when we disagreed on issues, Vice President Biden would pass me notes in the Situation Room, encouraging me to keep raising my voice, and during tense times he could be counted on for humor and warmth. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty ImagesAt a state dinner in honor of French president François Hollande. Andrew Harrer/picture-alliance/dpa/AP ImagesSpeaking to the press on a visit to South Sudan with the UN Security Council in 2016, and walking with South Sudanese president Salva Kiir. UN Photo/Isaac BillyBullen Chol/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesCasting the US vote for UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea. We also initiated the Council’s first discussion of the North Korean government’s brutal treatment of its own people. In Seoul, South Korea, I met inspiring young women who risked death to escape North Korea and were studying to become nurses, engineers, and lawyers. AP Photo/Seth WenigUnited States Mission to the United NationsElection night, 2016. I invited all the female ambassadors to the UN to watch the returns. By this point in the evening, I and the other ambassadors knew that the United States was not going to elect its first female president. Gilbert KingI brought my family on one last tour of the UN before departing my post on January 20th, 2017. We each took up a seat and pretended to stage a Council vote on whether the US should remain in the Paris climate agreement.
