Former President Joe Biden announced the release of his new memoir, Promise Me, America, which is slated to hit shelves on Nov. 17, two weeks after the midterm elections.

Memoirs have become a signature move for presidents after they leave office, providing both a lucrative source of income and a chance to have a say in their own legacy. This is particularly needed for Biden, 83, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight post-presidency as he weathers scathing attacks from critics and former allies alike over issues such as his health while in office and his decision to run for reelection. In a video announcement for the book, the former president took on a cheery tone.

“Since after the presidency, I’ve had a lot of people ask me, ‘Joe, what have you been doing?’ I’ve been spending a lot of time with my family. I’m dealing with a cancer diagnosis, and I’ve been getting treatment, and it’s been going really well. I want to thank all those who have offered their prayers and support and well wishes,” Biden began in a voiceover, as the video showed him approaching a chair, interspersed with a montage of his presidency.

“I’ve written a book about my time as president,” he added.

The book’s release date has raised eyebrows, as Biden had previously said he would release his memoirs before the 2026 midterm elections. The changed date is almost certainly due to fear of negative attention toward the Democratic Party ahead of the elections. Democrats have struggled to put 2024 behind them, the conclusion of a period many in the party would like to forget.

Biden laid out the reasons behind writing the book, saying it was “about the challenges we face as a nation, about the decisions I made, and why I made them. Leading the country through COVID, rebuilding our economy and restoring our democracy after the attack on January 6th, banning our nation’s longest war in Afghanistan, strengthening NATO, and supporting Ukraine.”

He also said it was about “why I chose to run for reelection and why I chose to step aside,” the latter point being notable as it’s been largely established that he was forced out, causing lasting bitterness.

“Most of all, it’s about my faith in the promise of America — the promise we made to those who’ve gone before us is to honor their sacrifice, the promises we made to one another, and to treat everyone with dignity and respect, and the promises we made to future generations of Americans, to remain the beacon to the world,” Biden said.

Biden’s memoir will allow him to provide a positive spin on a tenure that has been treated almost unanimously with bitterness in literary output since he left office. The only major work to offer a sympathetic view was his wife’s memoir, but even that included some scathing remarks. Former first lady Jill Biden revealed that she thought her husband’s June 2024 debate performance against President Donald Trump was so bad that she thought he was having a stroke.

Many in the party fear that any revival of discussions about what went wrong for Democrats in 2024 only hurts their ability to rebuild the party, as some have said both former Vice President Kamala Harris and Jill Biden’s book tours did earlier this year.

“We don’t need to be distracted by what the DNC says about the autopsy. I don’t need to be distracted about anyone’s book. What I need to do is to focus on making a difference in the lives of people. And that’s what I think they’re getting really frustrated about, is all this nonsense,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) told reporters at a Democratic National Committee meeting.

The title of the former president’s memoir is a reference to his last book, “Promise Me, Dad,” his 2017 memoir focused on the death of his son, Beau.