Celebrating Huma Abedin’s Both/And: A Life In Many Worlds with Tanya Taylor and Samantha Barry 

The last month has been a transformative one for Huma Abedin. After 25 years spent largely behind the scenes as the deputy chief of staff and right hand to Hilary Clinton, she has stepped out to tell her story in Both/And: A Life In Many Worlds, published by Scribner. And to ensure the memoir, over three years in the making, gets the attention it deserves, Abedin has been on an unrelenting tour across the country, telling her stories of adversity, triumph, and a few humorous mishaps, including that one time a garment bag full of Clinton’s clothes wound up in the East River. 

The tour continued last night at a private residence in Nolita, but rather than defend herself to critics, Abedin found herself surrounded by her closest confidantes. “This night, of all the nights I’ve had in the last four weeks, might be the most special,” she mused to the room full of captivated partygoers that included her sister Heba Abedin, her wedding planner Brian Rafanelli, and many longtime colleagues from Capitol Hill. “There are so many people in this room who have carried me through some of my worst moments.” 

She stood alongside Samantha Barry, editor-in-chief of Glamour, and designer Tanya Taylor, who served as sounding boards for the contents of Both/And throughout its editing process. “We were both living in East Hampton while she was working on this, and we would meet for lunch,” Taylor told Vogue. “She would tell me stories I maybe didn’t know about her, or stories that might be revealing, but honestly, they all were because she’s so private. I think she feels liberated to share these moments from both her private and professional life, and I’ve just been there to listen.” 

Also listening in were plenty of Abedin’s powerful pals outside of the political realm—Natalie Massenet, Elizabeth Kurpis, Lili Buffet, Isolde Brielmaier, and Sarah Hoover—all of whom stuck around as the last glasses of rosé were poured. “I feel a total sense of optimism and liberation,” Abedin, wearing a custom emerald green Tanya Taylor look, told us in a quiet moment between fielding a seemingly endless line of congratulatory hugs and handshakes. “I lived for so long bracing for the next call, or the next piece of news, so to now be on the other side, I feel a lightness of being and a joy that I’m not sure I ever understood or appreciated. The joy of seeing the end product that so many people are buying after all of this hard work is hard to put into words.” 

And with this wave of optimism, many were left wondering, would Abedin continue this new era with a run for political office? “I’m going to be open about new opportunities,” she added. “I don’t see myself running for office, because I know what that life is like. I have found balance in my life, and like having that balance, but I feel at 45, you should be open to anything. You never know.”