Pretend I’m Not Here

Barbara Feinman Todd has spent a lifetime helping other people tell their stories. In 1982, fresh out of college, she began her career as a copy aide at the Washington Post and was instantly hooked on the smell (cigarettes, newsprint), the noise (yelling editors, the clacking of typewriter keys), and the energy of the newsroom. At the Post, she worked for Bob Woodward, first as his research assistant in the paper’s investigative unit and, later, as his personal researcher for Veil, his bestselling book on the CIA.

A recommendation from Woodward led her to help his Watergate partner Carl Bernstein, who was struggling to finish his memoir, Loyalties. She then assisted legendary editor Ben Bradlee on his acclaimed autobiography A Good Life, and with Hillary Clinton on her bestselling It Takes a Village. Feinman Todd’s involvement with Mrs. Clinton made headlines when the First Lady neglected to acknowledge her role in the creation of the book, and later, when a disclosure to Woodward about the Clinton White House appeared in one of his books. These events haunted Feinman Todd for the next two decades until she confronted her past and discovered something startling.

In her illuminating memoir-a compelling insider’s account reminiscent of This Town-she recalls these stories and more, offering a fresh, up-close look at government and journalism at the highest levels. Revealing what it’s like to get into the heads and hearts of some of our most compelling and powerful figures, Feinman offers authentic portraits that go beyond the carefully polished public personas she helped them create. At its heart, Pretend I’m Not Here is a funny and poignant story of a young woman in a male-dominated world trying to find her own voice while eloquently speaking for others.