New book reveals B.C. Premier Christy Clark's darkest days
Judi Tyabji's new book provides a well researched, friendly look at Christy Clark
A new book examining the life of Christy Clark has revealed the intense amount of personal and public pressure the B.C. premier was under following her surprising leadership victory in 2011. Clark sat down for multiple interviews with Behind the Smile author Judi Tyabji and unveiled new details about how she was feeling in the run-up to the 2013 B.C. provincial election.
"I had to survive, and our government had to survive the infighting. I would get up some days and think, OK, how am I going to get through the day? What's going to happen today? OK, it's going to be a really terrible day. And I would just say to myself, I'm not going to keep sitting here," reads one passage in the book attributed to Clark.
"Every day I thought, I'm going to keep walking. I'm going to get up every day and put one foot in front of the other. I'm not going to stop moving, because I'm not going to surrender. I knew if I surrendered, it was over."
Tyabji interviewed more than 40 people for the book, including Clark's brother, her ex-husband, colleagues and key staff. The former Liberal MLA has known Clark since they were teenagers and that is reflected in the flattering tone throughout the book.
"What I hope people see is a glimpse into who she is to help them understand when she is making her choices as premier what sort of lens she is looking through," said Tyabji in an interview at the B.C. Legislature before the official launch of the book. "This is a book about a sitting premier, so there are many people in positions of influence who didn't want to sit down and speak on the record."
The one adversary to the premier who did sit down and interview for the book is former NDP cabinet minister and party president Moe Sihota. Sihota said it is always relevant and newsworthy to have a book done on a sitting premier.
The former NDP MLA sat down for the book because of his belief that 'history should record' the observations of those involved in politics. But he does not think the details in the book will make much of a difference as to how people feel about Clark.
"I don't think this book will be the last or should it be on Christy Clark, because it is not a definitive reporting of her time in office, which I think will be shorter than she [Clark] does [think it will be]," said Sihota.