American film critic Lisa Schwarzbaum in a review for Entertainment Weekly suggested that the memoir allowed the First Lady to reveal her true feelings on current events by subtly criticizing others.[5] Schwartzbam wrote that her "blithe imperiousness and deft passive aggression" was used as a powerful weapon to comment on the lives and activities of political figures and celebrities like Jesse Jackson, Rosalynn Carter, and Cher.
^Clift, Eleanor. "Barbara Bush: A Memoir." Washington Monthly Nov. 1994: 46+.
^Radcliffe, D., September 11, 1994. Barbara's Book: This Time, the First Grandma's Out There on Her Own. The Washington Post, 3. ISSN0190-8286
^Maureen D. "Qualities Americans Like: She was Dignified, She was Loyal, and She Wore $29 Shoes. BARBARA BUSH A Memoir. by Barbara Bush. Illustrated. 575 Pp. New York: A Lisa Drew Book/ Charles Scribner's Sons. $25. Qualities Americans Like Qualities Americans Like." The New York Times, Nov 27, 1994, pp. 3.