Greg Abbott - Broken But Unbowed: The Fight to Fix a Broken America

Thank you for downloading this Threshold Editions eBook.

Join our mailing list and get updates on new releases, deals, bonus content and other great books from Threshold Editions and Simon & Schuster.

C LICK H ERE T O S IGN U P

or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated to three women whose love and support inspired me to overcome lifes challenges.

First, my mother, who instilled in me the drive and determination to never give up.

Second, my wife, Cecilia, whose unfailing devotion helped me piece my life back together. She has stood by my side for more than three decades as weve overcome challenge after challenge.

Third, my daughter, Audrey, who is a constant inspiration and compass for my life. She is a daily reminder of the joys and importance of parenting, as well as the necessity of keeping our constitutional freedoms intact for future generations.

Our lives are not defined by our challenges, but by how we respond to those challenges.

G OVERNOR G REG A BBOTT

Ive been known to get a bit emotional during graduation ceremonies.

The feelings of past accomplishment and future hope are rarely experienced in the same moment.

I remember my wife, Cecilias three college graduations, celebrating the bachelors and two masters degrees she earned. I watched her overcome so many challenges and experience so much joy on her journey to becoming a teacher, a high school principal, and the first Hispanic first lady in Texas history.

Then theres our daughter, Audreys high school graduation. Just thinking about that day can make my eyes watera bittersweet mixture of pride and sadness as she stepped into another season of life. She has always been a reminder of the joy that only a child can bring. The first thing I see when entering my office is a huge picture of our daughter when she was four years old. Im holding her in one arm and she is beaming a big, radiant smile. That picture is a daily reminder of why I go to work. I want every child to smile, to hope, to dream, and to succeed.

Ive had the honor of speaking at high school and college graduation ceremonies across my state. These opportunities allow me to remind new generations that as they embark on the next chapter of their lives, they can overcome any obstacles that may come their way.

Theres another reason graduations mean so much to me. The last picture of me walking was taken at my last graduation.

In May 1984, with a mix of exhaustion and excitement, I walked across the platform to receive my diploma from Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Tennessee.

Three years before getting my law degree from Vanderbilt, I graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in finance. A few months later, Cecilia and I were married. Instead of a honeymoon, we packed and moved into the next chapter of our lives, when I began three years of intense law school study.

In my final year at Vanderbilt, I secured a job at a prestigious law firm in downtown Houston named Butler & Binion. This position was exactly what Cecilia and I were aiming for as a young couple. The future we had dreamed of was on the brink of becoming a reality.

We packed our bags in Nashville and headed to Houston, where we found a small apartment complex that attracted many other young professionals embarking on their careers. Our new home was on Allen Parkway, just a short drive to downtown Houston, where the offices of Butler & Binion were located in the citys second-largest skyscraper.

Since my new job didnt officially start until September, Cecilia found a job at a nearby retailer, Frost Brothers. The upscale clothing store was just seven blocks from our apartment, so shed often drive home for lunch.

Although I graduated from law school, I had not yet taken the next step in a young lawyers journey: the state bar exam. Fortunately, a law school classmate of mine, Fred Frost, had also moved to Houston to begin work at another large law firm. He needed a place to stay until after the bar exam, and we both needed a study partner.

Cecilia and I now had new jobs, in a new city, in a new apartmentand a new roommate!

Before newly minted law grads can become lawyers, they have to pass the bar exam. Even after years of school, and landing a job, all my professional dreams hinged on passing this three-day test, which is held only twice per year, in late July and February.

Pass the exam and youre licensed to practice law. Fail the exam and youll have to study until next years test. And hope you still have a job.

Because the stakes are so high, people often enroll in bar review courses; mine began in June. From the day Cecilia and I arrived in Houston, my new full-time job, if you will, was to dedicate myself to this course, and pass the bar exam.

Fred and I had classes in the evening and studied during the day. Sometimes we studied together, coaching each other, and sometimes alone. But we often took an afternoon break to exercise. I was a competitive runner in high school and kept at it through my college years. For me, running was a refreshing break from sitting at a desk.

Although Butler & Binion was a relatively large law firm, it wasnt stuffy. Its trademark was the firms family-style friendliness, from junior staff all the way to the managing partner. The firm hosted entertaining events during the summer to woo law students who would become the next class of lawyers for the firm. The big event each summer was a formal dinner at the Houston Country Club. Tuxedos, gowns, music, and dancing were all a part of this traditional summer dinner.

For a couple of twenty-somethings fresh out of college, this was quite a splashy affair, and definitely not what we were accustomed to. We were concerned about paying the rent, settling into a new city, waiting for health insurance to begin, and all the other challenges young couples have when they start their professional lives.

We were grown-ups, but this formal event made us feel like kids.

I remember dancing with Cecilia, smiling and marveling at how wonderfully this new chapter of life was unfolding. It seemed wed stumbled onto a movie seta film with a jubilant ending.

This was the beginning of the life wed been striving for, and a tangible step toward the vision we shared.

It was a magical night.

The next morning, I kissed my wife goodbye as she went off to work. Even though it was Saturday, I went to work, too, at my deskthe same one I used throughout my entire law school career.

On my desk, beside the stacks of books and papers, were airline tickets wed purchased for a trip to London.

Traveling to Londonor some other overseas locationafter the bar exam was a tradition in some circles. New law grads often take a month off after the July bar exam, since results arent received until November and it may be the last opportunity to take that much time off until their careers are concluded, far in the future.

With my job beginning in September, the timing was perfect. After years of grueling study, Cecilia and I were also looking forward to this trip as the honeymoon we never had. Our wedding was just two weeks before I began law school. We spent our honeymoon packing and moving and readying for the rigors of law school.