And in an excerpt published by Vogue on Mother's Day, Clinton remembers how her mother, Dorothy Howell Rodham, comforted her following her loss in the 2008 campaign.
"Having her so close became a source of great comfort to me, especially in the difficult period after the end of the 2008 campaign," Clinton writes. "I’d come home from a long day at the Senate or the State Department, slide in next to her at the small table in our breakfast nook, and let everything just pour out."
Dorothy Howell Rodham died in 2011 at age 92.
"When I became Secretary of State, Mom was just about to turn 90," Clinton writes. "She had been living with us in Washington for the past few years, ever since being alone in her apartment overlooking the zoo on Connecticut Avenue became too much. Like so many Americans of my generation, I felt both blessed to have these extra years with an aging parent and very responsible for making sure she was comfortable and well cared for. Mom gave me so much unconditional love and support when I was growing up in Park Ridge, Illinois; now it was my turn to support her."
She "loved mystery novels, Mexican food, 'Dancing with the Stars'" and her grandchildren, including Chelsea Clinton, the former first daughter. "For Chelsea, her grandmother was one of the most important figures in her life," Clinton writes. "Mom helped Chelsea navigate the unique challenges of growing up in the public eye and, when she was ready, encouraged her to pursue her passion for service and philanthropy.
"I’m not sure if I ever saw Mom happier than at Chelsea’s wedding," Clinton continues. She "exulted over her joyful, radiant granddaughter."
Rodham's "own childhood was marked by trauma and abandonment":
In Chicago her parents fought frequently and divorced when she and her sister were young. Neither parent was willing to care for the kids, so they were put on a train to California to live with their paternal grandparents in Alhambra, a town near the San Gabriel Mountains east of Los Angeles. The elderly couple was severe and unloving. One Halloween, after Mom was caught trick-or-treating with school friends, a forbidden activity, she was confined to her room for an entire year, except for the hours she was in school. She wasn’t allowed to eat at the kitchen table or play in the yard.
Clinton writes that she was about to leave for a trip as secretary of state when her mother's failing health took its last turn.
"I was preparing to leave for London and Turkey," Clinton writes. "My team was already on board the airplane at Andrews waiting for me to arrive so we could take off. That’s when I got the call that Mom had been rushed to George Washington University Hospital. I quickly canceled the trip and sped there. Bill, Chelsea, and Marc rushed down from New York, and my brothers and their wives, Hugh and Maria and Tony and Megan, arrived as quickly as they could. Mom was a fighter her entire life, but it was finally time to let go."
In the excerpt, Clinton also reflects on her own relationship with Chelsea.
"From the moment I first held Chelsea in my arms in the hospital in Little Rock, I knew my mission in life was to give her every opportunity to thrive," she writes. "As she’s grown up and stepped out into the world in her own right, my responsibilities have changed. Now that she’s expecting a child of her own, I’m preparing for a new role that I’ve looked forward to for years: grandmother."
在新一轮的总统竞选前期，希拉里•克林顿在她新的自传—《艰难抉择》中披露了她的个人生活。
希拉里在自传中回忆了她的母亲多萝西•豪厄尔•罗德姆在她2008年总统竞选失利时对她的安慰。
“有母亲在身边对我来说是极大的慰藉，尤其是在2008年底我竞选总统失败的那段艰难时期。”克林顿夫人写道：“每当我在参议院或国务院下班回家后，坐在她身旁，向她倾吐一切。”
“在我成为国务卿的那一年，母亲正好90岁，”克林顿夫人写道：“之前她自己居住的康涅狄格大道的小公寓虽说可以俯瞰动物园，但还是会感到很孤独。这些年来一直和我们一起住在华盛顿。就像和我同龄的美国人一样，我为能和母亲度过这么多年感到幸福，也感到有责任去关爱她，确保她生活舒适。当我小时候在帕克里奇，伊利诺伊州生活时，母亲给了我无尽的关爱，现在该是我去关心她的时候了。”
母亲“喜欢悬疑小说，墨西哥食品，‘与星星共舞’这首歌，还有就是她的孙子孙女们，包括我切尔西•克林顿。”克林顿回忆道：“对于切尔西而言，姥姥是她生命中最重要的人物。我的母亲教导切尔西如何在公众关注下成长，待她准备好时，则支持她去追寻她对公共和慈善事业的热情。”“在切尔西的婚礼上，我怀疑我从没见过母亲如此开心。”克林顿夫人继续写道：“当她看到她那幸福的，光彩四射的孙女儿时，真是满心狂喜！”
母亲罗德姆“自身的童年却经受着创伤和被遗弃之苦”：母亲小的时候在芝加哥生活，当她和她妹妹都还小时，她的父母就经常争吵，最终离婚。然而，父母双方都不想要两个孩子的抚养权，因此两个孩子坐上了去加利福尼亚的火车，被送到了爷爷奶奶所住的地方，他们住在拉斯维加斯东部的圣盖博山地带—阿罕布拉。两位长辈也是很严厉且冷漠的人。一次万圣节，我母亲被爷爷奶奶抓到和学校的同学玩捣蛋游戏，这是家里不允许的活动。
为此，家人惩罚她除了上学的时间外，一年都不允许她踏出的房间，也不允许她在餐桌上吃饭或在院子里玩儿。
2011年，希拉里的母亲以92岁的高龄离开了人世。希拉里写道，她作为国务卿出访时，她母亲的突然病危。“我本来准备出发去伦敦和土耳其，”希拉里写道：“和我同行的人已经在安德鲁斯飞机场等候我了，我一来大家就可以出发。就在那时，我接到电话说母亲被急速送往乔治•华盛顿大学医院。我立刻取消了行程飞奔到医院。与此同时，比尔，切尔西，和马克也都从纽约急速赶过来。我的几个弟弟同他们的妻子，休和玛利亚，托尼和梅根，都全速赶来。母亲斗争了一生，终于可以放手了。”
在一个摘录中，克林顿夫人也回想了自己与女儿切尔西的关系。
“当我在小石城第一次将我的切尔西抱入怀中，我意识到我人生的任务就是给予每一个让她去茁壮成长的机会。”她写道：“当她长大后，走进大千世界，我的职责便改变了。如今，她开始期盼着自己的孩子，而我也为一个让我期盼良久的角色做准备：姥姥。”
