In reading more about Garfield’s life and work, Goodyear expects that readers might find parallels between 19th-century and present-day politics.
“Reading and studying about America’s past leaders, in particular, serves as a reminder that our modern challenges are not all that new or unprecedented,” he said, “and that some of our most accomplished leaders had moments of incredible doubt, adversity and even failure. If you combine those two lessons, the result is inspiring.”
Balancing life as an author and full-time graduate student
Goodyear’s passion for history and interest in American government and the driving forces behind it drew him to the McCourt School to pursue a master’s degree in public policy.
It turns out that balancing life as an author and a full-time graduate student is easier than he thought it would be.
“I arrived at McCourt with the majority of my manuscript written but managed to fit much of the lengthy editing process around my classes,” said Goodyear. “I specifically remember spending time in Old North shaving down my ‘Acknowledgements’ section before heading off to my microeconomics class with Dr. Nada Eissa.”