Whitmer says she's staying in Michigan, but her new book is a hit nationwide

LANSING —She says she is not leaving Michigan, but Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's new memoir is flying off the shelves around the country.

Whitmer's July 9 release of "True Gretch" was opportunely timed, just 12 days before President Joe Biden announced he was abandoning his campaign for re-election , amid concerns about his age and cognitive abilities, and national attention turned to Whitmer and a handful of other politicos as possible replacements on the ticket.

Democrats quickly rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris as their new presumptive presidential candidate and Whitmer has said she is not interested in running for vice president, if offered a place on the new Democratic ticket.

But that hasn't tamped down national interest in Whitmer and her story.

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As of Tuesday, "True Gretch" was listed third on the New York Times best seller list for combined print and e-book non-fiction and fourth on the hardcover nonfiction list.

At an event in East Lansing Tuesday night , Whitmer said she doesn't describe her book as a memoir.

"It's 10 things that I've learned at an early time in my life that I have utilized over these last six years, to stay positive and stay focused and I figured I'd put a little light on the world," Whitmer said.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on X, @paulegan4.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer says she's staying in Michigan, but her new book is a hit nationwide