he sayou found a significant ol girlfriend, a woman named sheila yager.roposed marriage to her twice. for americans it is interesting to think there could have been a difficult first lady than michelle obama. you write the marriage discussions drags on and on. it was effected by barack's torment over this central issue of his life, the question of his own race and identity, the resolution of his black identity was directly linked to his decision to pursue a political career. tell us more about that insight and what she shared with you about their relationship. >> when barack is in chicago working as a community organizer, that's his first emersion into the african-american community. he's working in a largely black setting, living with a woman who's half dutch, half japanese. they were involved for five years. it is a defining relationship in barack's life. and here we are only in 2017 is this really core experience of his finally becoming part of the historical record. and that's how i view this book. this is a comprehensive authoritative history of bara