My Life and Times by Abraham Lincoln: An Alternate History

My Life and Times is a poignant and introspective autobiography by Abraham Lincoln, written in the final years of his life in an alternate history where the Confederacy won the Civil War, leading to his resignation in disgrace in 1863. Spanning his humble beginnings to his fall from power, this deeply personal narrative offers a candid reflection on a life marked by ambition, failure, and unyielding devotion to the Union. Completed by his law partner, William H. Herndon, after Lincoln's death in 1865, the book is both a defense of his actions and a meditation on leadership, loss, and the enduring hope for a reunited nation.

Born in 1809 in a Kentucky log cabin, Lincoln traces his early years of poverty, self-education, and restless ambition, shaped by the frontier's hardships and his mother's death. Moving to Illinois, he builds a life as a lawyer and legislator, honing his voice in Springfield's courtrooms and statehouse, while grappling with melancholy and the growing shadow of slavery. His marriage to Mary Todd and fatherhood anchor him, though personal losses, like the death of his son Willie, deepen his private struggles.

Lincoln's political rise-from a term in Congress to his 1860 presidential victory as a Republican-sets the stage for the book's heart: the Civil War's catastrophic unraveling. He recounts the secession crisis, military defeats under generals like McClellan and Burnside, and the Emancipation Proclamation, a moral gamble that failed to turn the war's tide. As Confederate forces advance, public scorn and political betrayal force his resignation, and the Union's surrender in the Treaty of Richmond leaves him a pariah.

Returning to Springfield, Lincoln lives in obscurity, shunned by neighbors and haunted by guilt. He writes to reclaim his legacy, defending his choices while acknowledging his flaws-naivety, indecision, and an overreliance on faltering allies. The book's final chapters, penned in declining health, explore the divided nation's struggles and his fading hope for reconciliation. Herndon's closing letter to posterity urges readers to see Lincoln's intent-a Union preserved, slavery challenged-despite his failures.

At once a historical tragedy and a human portrait, My Life and Times reveals Lincoln's resilience, his love for family, and his wrestling with a nation's fracture. Written with a raw, reflective voice, it is a testament to a man who, though broken by defeat, sought to leave a truth that might outlast his disgrace, offering readers a window into a leader undone by forces beyond his control yet sustained by an enduring faith in justice.