--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's interesting to me that really one of…" description: "\"It's interesting to me that really one of the first things she [Eleanor Roosevelt]did as First Lady was to collect her father's letters and publish a b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/blanche-wiesen-cook-13340_bigs_it-s-interesting-to-me-that-really-one-o_2389950.jpg" --- # It's interesting to me that really one of the first things… ![“It's interesting to me that really one of the first things she [Eleanor Roosevelt]did as First Lady was to collect her father's letters and publish a book called The Letters of My Father, essentially, hunting big game, The Letters of Elliott Roosevelt. And it really was an act of redemption…” quote by Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/blanche-wiesen-cook-13340_bigs_it-s-interesting-to-me-that-really-one-o_2389950.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/blanche-wiesen-cook-13340_bigs_it-s-interesting-to-me-that-really-one-o_2389950.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/blanche-wiesen-cook-13340_bigs_it-s-interesting-to-me-that-really-one-o_2389950.jpg) > “It's interesting to me that really one of the first things she \[Eleanor Roosevelt\]did as First Lady was to collect her father's letters and publish a book called The Letters of My Father, essentially, hunting big game, The Letters of Elliott Roosevelt. And it really was an act of redemption, really one of her first acts of redemption as she entered the White House. She was going to redeem her father's honor. And publishing his letters, reconnecting with her childhood really fortified her to go on into the difficult White House years.” [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Eleanor Roosevelt used publishing her father's letters to restore his reputation and strengthen her resolve for the challenges ahead. **In simple terms:** Publishing his letters repaired his image and gave her confidence. Key Takeaway Use personal history to empower future actions. Themes redemption family legacy political resilience Mood reflective determined Type biographical inspirational When to use this quote - political career - family crisis - public speaking - legacy projects Key Concepts historical narrative personal branding public service Questions to Reflect On - How can personal stories reshape public perception? - What risks exist in reviving family histories? A Different Perspective Redemption may not fully erase past controversies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Big Game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-game/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Eleanor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eleanor/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eleanor-roosevelt/) [Elliott Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elliott-roosevelt-2558972/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Father Letters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father-letters-5949896/) [First lady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-lady/) [First things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-things/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Goes on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goes-on/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Hunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunting/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Letters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letters/) [Publish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publish/) [Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publishing/) [Reconnecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reconnecting/) [Redemption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/redemption/) [Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roosevelt/) [Roosevelt Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roosevelt-really-2052123/) [Things Eleanor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-eleanor-5949897/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White house](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-house/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [I think that Eleanor Roosevelt really learned about the limits of power and influence from Arthurdale. She could not make some things happen. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/i-think-that-eleanor-roosevelt-really-learned-about-the-limits-of/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [Politics is not an isolated, individualist adventure. Women really need to emerge as a power to be the countervailing power to the men. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/politics-is-not-an-isolated-individualist-adventure-women-really-need/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [There were always jokes about Hillary Clinton channeling Eleanor Roosevelt, but Eleanor Roosevelt was really instrumental at the UN, and would want to meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/there-were-always-jokes-about-hillary-clinton-channeling-eleanor/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [During the 1937 congressional election campaign, Johnson's group probably paid $5,000 to Elliott Roosevelt, one of Franklin Roosevelt's sons, for a telegram in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/during-the-1937-congressional-election-campaign-johnson-s-group/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [ And she \[Eleanor Roosevelt\]loves being a star. And she loves being a teacher and a leader and a mentor and a big friend. Also,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/and-she-eleanor-roosevelt-loves-being-a-star-and-she-loves-being-a/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [In one way, it is this sense of order and also love that, I think, really saved Eleanor Roosevelt's life. And in her own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/in-one-way-it-is-this-sense-of-order-and-also-love-that-i-think/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [Well, the reality of her father was that he was a very diseased alcoholic, who died at the age of 34. And one always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/well-the-reality-of-her-father-was-that-he-was-a-very-diseased/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [I think Eleanor Roosevelt always had a most incredible comfort writing letters. I mean, she was in the habit of writing letters. And that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/i-think-eleanor-roosevelt-always-had-a-most-incredible-comfort/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [Eleanor Roosevelt loved to write. She was a wonderful child writer. I mean, she wrote beautiful essays and stories as a child. And Marie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/eleanor-roosevelt-loved-to-write-she-was-a-wonderful-child-writer-i/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [ But it's also the beginning of another level of liberation for her\]Eleanor Roosevelt\], because when she returns to New York, she gets very involved… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/but-it-s-also-the-beginning-of-another-level-of-liberation-for-her/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [Her mother died at the age of 29, essentially turning her face to the wall and deciding to die. And so we can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/her-mother-died-at-the-age-of-29-essentially-turning-her-face-to-the/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [On international relations, Eleanor Roosevelt really takes a great shocking leadership position on the World Court. In fact, it amuses me. The very first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/on-international-relations-eleanor-roosevelt-really-takes-a-great/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [So in 1924, Eleanor Roosevelt really gets a sense of what the limits of the battle and the contours of the battle are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/so-in-1924-eleanor-roosevelt-really-gets-a-sense-of-what-the-limits/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [Well, when Eleanor Roosevelt's mother dies, she goes to live with her Grandmother Hall. And her Grandmother Hall is in mourning. She's in widow's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/well-when-eleanor-roosevelt-s-mother-dies-she-goes-to-live-with-her/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [And you can really see in all of these issues that are priorities for Eleanor Roosevelt, where the compromises are painful, the compromises are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/and-you-can-really-see-in-all-of-these-issues-that-are-priorities-for/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) ## More by Blanche Wiesen Cook > [Women who love women, who choose women to nurture and support and to create a living environment in which to work creatively and independently,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/women-who-love-women-who-choose-women-to-nurture-and-support-and-to/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [And Grandmother Hall really imagines that she can raise Eleanor and her two brothers differently than these children were raised. And if she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/and-grandmother-hall-really-imagines-that-she-can-raise-eleanor-and/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [And you can really see in all of these issues that are priorities for Eleanor Roosevelt, where the compromises are painful, the compromises are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/and-you-can-really-see-in-all-of-these-issues-that-are-priorities-for/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [Well, when Eleanor Roosevelt's mother dies, she goes to live with her Grandmother Hall. And her Grandmother Hall is in mourning. She's in widow's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/well-when-eleanor-roosevelt-s-mother-dies-she-goes-to-live-with-her/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [So in 1924, Eleanor Roosevelt really gets a sense of what the limits of the battle and the contours of the battle are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/so-in-1924-eleanor-roosevelt-really-gets-a-sense-of-what-the-limits/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [On international relations, Eleanor Roosevelt really takes a great shocking leadership position on the World Court. In fact, it amuses me. The very first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/on-international-relations-eleanor-roosevelt-really-takes-a-great/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [Her mother died at the age of 29, essentially turning her face to the wall and deciding to die. And so we can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/her-mother-died-at-the-age-of-29-essentially-turning-her-face-to-the/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [I think her Grandmother Hall gave her a great sense of family love, and reassurance. Her grandmother did love her, like her father, unconditionally.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/i-think-her-grandmother-hall-gave-her-a-great-sense-of-family-love/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [ But it's also the beginning of another level of liberation for her\]Eleanor Roosevelt\], because when she returns to New York, she gets very involved… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/but-it-s-also-the-beginning-of-another-level-of-liberation-for-her/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [ And her \[Eleanor Roosevelt\] Grandmother Hall provided her really with a quite wonderful education, and a freedom that, within the framework of Tivoli (which… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/and-her-eleanor-roosevelt-grandmother-hall-provided-her-really-with-a/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [Eleanor Roosevelt loved to write. She was a wonderful child writer. I mean, she wrote beautiful essays and stories as a child. And Marie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/eleanor-roosevelt-loved-to-write-she-was-a-wonderful-child-writer-i/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [Eleanor Roosevelt fights for an anti-lynch law with the NAACP, with Walter White and Mary McLeod Bethune. And she begs FDR to say one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/eleanor-roosevelt-fights-for-an-anti-lynch-law-with-the-naacp-with/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [I think Eleanor Roosevelt always had a most incredible comfort writing letters. I mean, she was in the habit of writing letters. And that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/i-think-eleanor-roosevelt-always-had-a-most-incredible-comfort/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [And of course, FDR was very charming. At 6'2", he was tall enough to be her beau, and they made a beautiful couple. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/and-of-course-fdr-was-very-charming-at-6-2-he-was-tall-enough-to-be/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) > [Well, the reality of her father was that he was a very diseased alcoholic, who died at the age of 34. And one always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-wiesen-cook/well-the-reality-of-her-father-was-that-he-was-a-very-diseased/) [Blanche Wiesen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) [Explore all 50 Blanche Wiesen Cook quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-wiesen-cook/) ## More Bigs quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. 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And it really was an act of redemption, really one of her first acts of redemption as she entered the White House. She was going to redeem her father's honor. 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