Second book from Donald Trump's niece to Allen & Unwin

Donald Trump's niece, Mary L Trump, is publishing her second book with Allen & Unwin in July 2021, a year on from the publication of her exposé, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's most Dangerous Man (S&S).

Allen & Unwin UK publisher Ed Faulkner bought UK and Commonwealth rights to The Reckoning: America’s Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal with Allen & Unwin ANZ publishing director Tom Gilliatt. The deal was struck with Kerry Nordling at St Martin’s Publishing Group.

The Reckoning will "examine America's national trauma", according to the publisher, "rooted in its long history of slavery and civil rights abuses, but dramatically exacerbated by the impact of recent events and the Trump administration's corrupt and immoral policies".

The synopsis explains further: "America’s failure to acknowledge this trauma, let alone root it out, has allowed it to metastasise. Whether it manifests itself in rising levels of rage and hatred, or hopelessness and apathy, the stress of living in a country many no longer recognise has affected everyone. America is suffering from PTSD—a new leader alone cannot fix it. An enormous amount of healing must be done to rebuild faith in America’s leadership and hope for the nation. It starts with The Reckoning."

The author's first book, Too Much and Never Enough, was published to much media interest in July 2020 after the former president's brother Robert filed two injunctions against the author and S&S, citing a confidentiality clause Mary Trump signed in 2001. Both injunctions were overruled. 

Faulkner said: "Given the recent scenes at the US Capitol, to which we looked on from overseas in horror, it feels like this book is more important than ever. Mary Trump’s experience as a clinical psychologist, as well as her personal knowledge of the former president, means she is uniquely placed to help transform people’s understanding of America’s trauma and its future. It is a huge honour and privilege for us to publish it."

Gilliatt added: "What we’ve seen over the past four years is that America’s trauma is the world’s trauma. Understanding the causes of that trauma and the potential paths to healing have never been more vital. Mary Trump’s professional and personal vantage points give her a unique insight into what has been the most fundamental challenge to American democracy and American institutions in our lifetime. We look forward to help making her hugely timely and important book the bestseller it deserves to be."

Mary Trump commented: "For four years, Donald Trump has inflicted a series of traumas upon the American people, targeting anyone he perceived as the ‘other’ as an enemy. Women were discounted and derided, the sick were dismissed as weak and unworthy of help, immigrants and minorities were demonised and discriminated against, and money was elevated above all else. Finally, he demonstrated his stunning lack of concern for the American people with his wilful mishandling of the pandemic and the ensuing economic collapse. In short, he transformed our country into a macro version of my malignantly dysfunctional family."

The Reckoning will be published in hardback, trade paperback and e-book in July 2021 on the Allen & Unwin imprint Atlantic Books in the UK, and by Allen & Unwin in Australia and New Zealand.