"Melania" is a look inside the life of the former — and now future — first lady. From her childhood in Slovenia to being a mother to Barron Trump and a faithful partner to Donald Trump, Melania Trump shares insights into her life through her 2024 personal memoir that successfully details her complex history.
Now that she has been outside the White House for a few years, Melania — who is known to like her privacy — has stayed out of the public eye. Her intention with this memoir is to share her perspective on things, "especially in these times of division and uncertainty."
In her accounts of stories, when she first meets Donald, their wedding and the time they spent in the White House, she is quick to reassure that her love for him is true.
Melania's life before coming to America seems relatively normal for a former supermodel growing up in former Yugoslavia. Born in Slovenia in 1970, she describes her parents as hard workers — her mother, Amalija, worked for a design studio of a children's clothing factory and her father, Viktor, was a production manager at a factory.
Melania's recollection of meeting Donald for the first time is a testament to her personality, she said she knew of the rich businessman as a celebrity but did not know much more than that.
Going into the first year of Donald’s presidency, Melania said she was excited to assume the traditional role of being the first lady. Some of her primary responsibilities were transitioning from Trump Tower to the White House, redecorating it to accompany her style and planning all the annual White House events: the Easter Egg Roll, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
While the duties of maintaining the White House may seem like more than what most people can handle, Melania's resilience proves she is the right woman for the job.
Along with her story, Melania provides images from almost every aspect of the memoir: black and white photos from when she was much younger, her portrait in Vogue when she was pregnant with Barron and meeting national figures like the Pope.
Melania writes that as first lady, she chose to start the philanthropy "Be Best" which was aimed to focus on issues children face. There were three topics concentrating on well-being, online safety and opioid abuse.
Her focus on online safety derives from her dislike of misinformation in the media. A constant theme of the book is how the media has often perceived her in a negative light.
She describes the time when she waved her hand at Donald's in an attempt to hold it during a red carpet event, which was later labeled as the "swat." In her own words, she said it was a misunderstanding.
Melania expresses many of her opinions, most of which do not align with her husband's views. Despite them not agreeing on topics, she assures the reader that their "mutual understanding and appreciation for each other's perspectives create a harmonious relationship."
She refers to Barron's half-siblings as "Donald's grown children," distancing herself from them politically but clearly communicating her personal relationships with each of them.
Melania's memoir is a look into her private life and a glimpse into the future of her second term as first lady.
She is not what people make her out to be. Melania is a resilient woman who stands true to what she believes in and loves her family through and through.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Editor's note: The review presented in this column are the author's and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
Edited by Andrew Dirst, Sophia Braccio, Alysa Horton and Madeline Schmitke.
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Emma is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication and political science, with a minor in business. This is her second semester with The State Press.
