Dr. Jill Biden – A First Lady Undeterred

A pandemic. A war. A country at its breaking point. Dr. Jill Biden has faced it all with the grace and conviction that has guided her all her life showing up for her students, her friends and family, the american people, her husband, and herself.

- By Mattie Kahn

Two women were grieving, so the schedule would have to change. It was the beginning of March, 72 hours before Dr. Jill Biden was slated to depart for a three-state swing to promote the achievements of the American Rescue Plan-the Biden administration's $1.9 trillion pandemic-response package and one of its major legislative accomplishments to date. The idea had been for her to hunker down at the White House to prepare for the trip. Now her presence was required elsewhereand she was in apparent need of a time-travel machine.

In Massachusetts that Friday morning, top Biden aide and White House deputy chief of staff Jen O'Malley Dillon was mourning the loss of her father. In California later that same day, Senator Dianne Feinstein was holding a memorial to mark the passing of her husband, Richard Blum. Both men had died of cancer. Their loved ones were heartbroken. The services were thousands of miles apart.

Scrap the quiet weekend. Things change so fast. You have to be flexible, Biden says now, or else you won't survive the job. Dr. Biden would zip up to Boston and then book it to San Francisco. Two funerals. Two coasts. One woman with a three-hour time difference on her side. She made it.