FIRST ON FOX: Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert highlighted her personal history and her journey to being a conservative in a new book.
Boebert's memoir, "My American Life," which will be released on Tuesday, discusses her life growing up in a liberal Colorado household and how she found herself on the right side of the aisle.
"I’ve had incredible experiences throughout my life," Boebert told Fox News Digital on Monday. "Now I’m excited to be able to share my story, the good the bad and the hilarious, with everyone. This book is a glimpse into how I’ve lived the American dream."
"I’m a self-taught conservative. I was raised in a Democrat household, which left me standing in line for government cheese," the Colorado Republican continued. "But when I got my first job at McDonald’s, became a mom of four, and opened my own business, I learned that it’s conservative principles that will break you free from the cycle of poverty."
With a foreword written by Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, "My American Life" explores Boebert’s life experiences, such as her first job at a McDonald’s that taught her "valuable lessons about hard work and an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work."
"Influence doesn’t necessarily come easy, but it also doesn’t come with any prerequisites," Boebert writes. "It doesn’t require a degree from a hoity-toity college, a privileged background, a huge Instagram following, powerful connections, or a big bank account."
"As I’ll say repeatedly, with a work ethic, tenacity, and a love of God, family, and country, you can, and will, make a difference," she continues.
Boebert writes about her home life growing up and opening up her own restaurant, Shooters Grill, with her husband Jayson as well as working in a prison ministry while building her Christian faith.
"On the first Sunday I was scheduled to minister at the Garfield County jail, there were thirteen female inmates," Boebert writes. "Their crimes varied from drug-related offenses to burglary, domestic violence, and a smattering of other offenses."
The congresswoman noted that, on the first Sunday she worked as a prison minister, only one female inmate showed up for her ministry class before Boebert herself stirred the other 12 to attend her class.
"I loudly proclaimed that I was a new minister from the church, I had an important message to share with all of them, and I expected them to attend church right now," Boebert writes. "They looked at me with blank stares."
"Then I shouted, ‘Hurry up! Get to the library. We’re already late and I have a lot to cover with you. Stop wasting time!’" she continued. "A few minutes later, all thirteen inmates were in the library. They may have looked disgruntled and disinterested, but nevertheless, they were there."
The Colorado Republican’s book also addresses several controversies in her life, such as getting her GED after "McQuitting high school" — her name for Chapter 4 — and her husband’s bowling alley arrest in Rifle, where he was accused of exposing himself to an underage bartender and took a plea deal on the charge.
Boebert defends her husband in her book, writing that no "one could have known" the bartender "wasn’t an adult" and that he "was a young oil field worker without a lawyer or the desire to hire one."
"Instead of fighting for his innocence in court, Jayson took a plea deal, which resulted in him having a permanent criminal record," Boebert writes. "At the time, it didn’t matter to Jayson that he was pleading guilty."
"He knew the truth—and the truth was, he didn’t do what he was accused of," the book continues, with the congresswoman writing "the entire experience opened Jayson’s eyes to the reality that he needed the alcohol and anger management classes that came with the plea deal."
"Fast-forward a couple of decades, and now that I’m in the public eye, the Left attacks us relentlessly—facts be damned," Boebert wrote. "They point to Jayson’s arrest and say awful things about him—rather than applaud a man who’s made a few mistakes along the way, learned from them, and then made himself a true success, got married, and is raising four incredible young men."
Boebert made headlines last month when she announced she was taking legal action against the Democrat political action committee (PAC) that claimed, without evidence, that she was an "unlicensed paid escort."
Boebert's attorney sent a letter to the American Muckrakers PAC regarding the claims that she was an "unlicensed paid escort" who had "two abortions," pledging to bring "civil defamation" lawsuits against the PAC.
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"Partisan organizations putting out blatantly false and disgusting accusations won’t stop me from advancing freedom and conservative values," Boebert told Fox News Digital in a Wednesday statement. "This group's vile conduct demonstrates why people are fed up with politics. I am not going to stand by and pretend this is normal behavior."
"This political committee, funded by far-left Democrat donors and run by two left-wing political operatives, published pages of false statements knowing they were completely fabricated," she continued. "The law on this type of defamation is clear and this conduct will be subject to civil and criminal penalties. Attached is a letter from my attorney introducing our response to these lies."