Is Jenny Sanford "Staying True"?

Unless you have been living under a rock, and even then I'm sure you have heard about South Carolina's infamous Governor Mark Sanford and his trip hiking the Appalachian Trail  to Argentina to see his soul mate Maria Belen Chapur. His now estranged wife, Jenny Sanford, has just released her book, "Staying True".

I will tell you what has amazed me the most about her current book tour. As you know from reading my blog (if you have) I listen to a local radio show, "The Morning Buzz" in the morning while I am working. They have been discussing Mrs. Sanford's book at great lengths lately and it seems the consensus is SHE is the one that is wrong. The vast majority of the callers, and the radio host himself, seem to think that there is no reason Mrs. Sanford should have written a book. That she is just "out to make money". That if she really cared about protecting her boys as she claims, she wouldn't subject them to this.


I call foul. First of all, have you ever heard of Skil Saw, and the Skil corp? Yeah, that's her family, so this is not a woman that needs money. She also has a degree in finance from Georgetown University and worked on Wall Street for an investment banking firm. She is wealthy in her own right, without a book.


She has every right to tell her side of the story. We were subjected to Governor Sanford, for months, telling us about his "soul mate" and how he was in "luv" (yes "luv" not "love"). How, he was going to end contact with his Argentinian Maria and "try" to fall back in love with his wife. Mrs. Sanford has every right to tell us how she felt. What she went through. How it all started and what lead to the path they are now on. 

She tells how before they got married, Mark decided they would drop "faithful" from their wedding vows. She says, "It bothered me to some extent, but...we were very young, we were in love...I questioned it, but I got past it...along with other doubts I had." Well, she is getting a lot of flack for this concession. But, let's remember, they were young, were in love, and full of hope, faith, and trust in one another. It probably was a mere blip on the radar screen at the time. Of course, hind sight being 20/20, it's easy to say what a naive young girl she was to agree. But does omitting the word, in and of itself, omit the promise? 


I am really surprised at how much criticism she is getting. Mrs. Sanford is being made out to be the bad guy for publishing a book. I guess I just see it differently. I think she has every right to tell her side. I am sure it is only a matter of time before Maria Belen Chapur and Mark Sanford have book deals. If people will buy it, and they are buying Jenny Sanford's book, then obviously there is a demand and there are people interested in hearing what she has to say.