Review: ‘Settle For More’

On the surface it appears to be a classic case of talent, intelligence, good looks and white privilege combining to create the perfect life.

Closer examination of Megyn Kelly's 'Settle for More” (Harper Collins, $29.99, 320 pages), however, reveals that life to be the product of a solid upbringing, ambition, determination and hard work. Make that a lot of hard work.

The Fox News anchor, whose 'The Kelly File” is touted as cable television's top-rated news show, takes the reader on a journey from family life in upstate New York to a legal career in Dallas and Chicago and back east for a successful television career in Washington and New York.

Life experiences that helped shape her include a traumatic experience as the victim of bullying as a seventh-grader, the sudden death of her father while she was in high school, one failed marriage caused by colliding careers, and, finally, a successful marriage with three obviously adored children. Motivational insights derived from Oprah and Dr. Phil may jar the sensibilities of some readers, but their impact on her seems realistic enough to me.

Her rise as a law student and experience as a hard-working law firm associate fascinated me. More readers, I suspect, will be drawn to her accounts of sexual harassment at Fox and her 'Year of Trump.”

Some Trump supporters may even cringe as they read about the impact Trump's verbal assault had on her during the presidential campaign - all stemming from her initial question to him at a debate in August 2016 at Cleveland about his treatment of women. What ensued, according to her account, included a brutal assault of words and threats from Trump supporters ('... I will beat you up so bad I will force you to support trump you slut.”)

The negative impact on her was such that one has to wonder why she chose to finally bury the hatchet at 'The Trump Tower Accords” in April 2016. But her explanation rings true. 'My commitment to myself is to settle for more. Yet here I was, ready to accept a life of stress and attempted bullying that could go on for years.” She chose to take control and put a stop to it.

Regardless of your political persuasion, I suspect you'll find this memoir a gripping read. You may not side with her take on things at every turn, but you'll probably be compelled to agree that Megyn Kelly's life to date is proof that you can't judge a book by its cover. What appears to be glitz and glamor on the surface is invariably much more complex below the surface.