Keeping the Promise

Keeping the Promise collects fifty personal stories drawn from the author's life. Ken Oder recounts encounters with notable figures such as Muhammad Ali, President Clinton, Anna Anderson, who claimed to be the daughter of the Tsar of Russia, and Harold Swanson, Hollywood's first literary agent. The essays also confront private and ethical challenges: life and death decisions, the trauma of aging, the heartbreak of dementia, the burden of representing a death row defendant, and the angst of enduring a pandemic. These pieces move across a wide emotional range and offer varied perspectives on living a long, full life.