Book Review: “Too Much and Never Enough” by Mary L. Trump

Initially, I was a bit apprehensive about reading this book, and I’ll tell you exactly why.

Nearly everyone has tried to explain the dystopian apocalyptic nightmare that is the reign of Donald Trump as POTUS, even those who initially supported him during his 2016 election campaign. Since the mass movements that have developed during his presidency, the environmental crises, the Flint Water problems and many more, Donald Trump is more inactive than evil - even his Twitter account is more alive than his want to remove the dark stains that protrude through American History and are seemingly slipping through the cracks in his power once again. Again, everyone has written a book or thought about writing a book about why they cannot really understand how Donald Trump is still president through all of this, but I was more apprehensive about reading this particular one not because it was by his niece but because it was dealing with something that from research, I know to be a touchy subject: Donald Trump’s mental health.

The book starts off by outlining the case for President Trump’s mental health issues by introducing us to the extended family whilst Mary attends an event at the White House. It deals with the almost lacklustre atmosphere of not being introduced to a cousin’s wife, ignored and sometimes even pushed aside. It’s a brilliant case for ‘look at me, I’m different to them’ but it also begs the question of why is your own family ignoring you. Be that as it may, the insight is helpful when you come to read the rest of the book. It offers you some groundwork, though it is not very ideal when looking at why Donald Trump is the way he is because most of that side of the research relies on the past and those people are no longer living. There are a number of sides to explore from this book and though I think the writer does a great job in presenting us with her education and her way with words, I don’t think she is particularly the best person to comment on her uncle’s mental health seeing as by name (and seemingly by name alone for some reason) she is one of them.

The book after the prologue is a strange mixture of blaming others for President Trump’s ‘cruelty’ to blaming him for his own cruelty. The problem that I had when reading this is that the ‘others’ this book blames are his parents. Now, the parents were not the problem - the problem was that I thought it rather obvious that the parents of President Trump would have an influence on the way he behaved, the way he responded and his ultimate world view. As the main caregivers and the main point of trust, this would only be the most natural thing. For example: I am pretty sure whether it be in agreement or reactionary against, you are influenced by your parents’ world view. It’s only natural for a child to grow up either reacting against or accepting their parents’ idea of politics and humanity. Again, this is true for President Trump as well.

Calling President Trump ‘the world’s most dangerous man’ in the subtitle to the book is naturally not going to sit well with quite a few people. The man who became President at a time when there was really no presidential debate - we could have one of two liars really, is not the most dangerous man on the planet and possibly not even in the top five. Since there are still death camps on the planet dedicated to housing Muslims and there are still leaders on the planet who support the persecution of the Jewish People, I don’t think that Donald Trump is more dangerous than these folk. He is definitely up there since his ability to make decisions is often clouded by the best interest of his own kind, however, I don’t think he is as dangerous as some other leaders on the world stage at the moment.

In conclusion, though it is well written and showcases the vast knowledge and ability of its author, there are still a few problems I have outlined as having with this book. Be that as it may, it is an interesting read if you really want to get inside the Trump Family Dynasty and see what is really going on beneath the surface.