The County Line
Noblesville native Andrea Neal’s new book, Pence: The Pathway to Power, is due at bookstores next month. It is a carefully researched biography of the former Indiana governor and now Vice President Mike Pence.
The author reviews Pence’s career starting with his first unsuccessful and negative campaign for Congress, after which he started a successful talk radio program and was named head of the Indiana Public Policy Review Foundation. It follows his second, and successful run against longtime incumbent Phil Sharp.
He then won the Republican nomination for governor in 2012 and was elected by a narrow margin. His term was a stormy one, but he sought a second term only to withdraw when Donald Trump invited him to run for vice president in 2016.
Apparently, Pence never doubted the Trump-Pence ticket would win despite predictions to the contrary. In the book are also found a few interesting tidbits that heretofore have not been revealed. But, my interest is more about the biography’s author, a good and accomplished writer. It’s hard to describe how impressed I am with Andrea Neal, a talented lady I’ve known since she was a child.
Andrea is the daughter of the late James T. Neal. Her mother, Georgianne Neal who also started as a news reporter, now lives in Indianapolis. Andrea’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather were in the newspaper business in Noblesville for most of the 20th century, operating the respected Noblesville Daily Ledger.
Andrea got her first taste of journalism working part time at the Ledger while still in school. After graduating from Brown University, she took a position with the UPI news service, then went to the Indianapolis Star where she was a columnist and editorial board member. She is now a teacher at Saint Richard’s Episcopal School as well as an author.
Although Andrea comes from a staunch Republican family and was a Pence appointee to the State Board of Education, her biography reveals the favorable, the unfavorable and, most of all, the accurate story of the vice president’s political career. It is not fluff, according to those who have reviewed the book.
In 2016, Andrea wrote a book entitled Road Trip, a travel guide of Indiana history for the state Bicentennial. Her deep family roots in Indiana led to her interest in state history. Andrea’s immediate family, besides her mother, includes two adult sons, Drew and Scott, and a sister, Dede.