On a crisp October evening at the San Francisco Masonic, the air buzzed with anticipation as Kamala Harris took the stage to discuss her new memoir, 107 Days. The event, held on October 5, 2025, marked the fifth stop on Harris’s nationwide book tour, but the energy inside the auditorium felt unmistakably local. As she greeted the crowd, Harris—born in Oakland—made sure to remind everyone, “Bay Area! You know where I’m from! It’s really good to be home.”
Harris’s memoir, published by Simon & Schuster and retailing at $49.99, offers a candid account of her whirlwind 107-day campaign for the presidency. The campaign began with a phone call that changed the course of American politics: on July 21, 2024, President Joe Biden called Harris at her official residence, interrupting a quiet moment with her grand-nieces. “I’ve decided I’m dropping out,” Biden told her, setting off a political sprint that would test Harris’s resolve and the Democratic Party’s unity, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.
During the San Francisco event, moderated by comedian D.L. Hughley, Harris reflected on the intense weeks that followed Biden’s withdrawal. She described the experience as a “hospital pass for the ages: a VP with political training wheels versus Donald Trump, who had only days earlier survived an assassination attempt.” The audience listened intently as Harris recounted the challenges of running against a reinvigorated Trump, the grief of her eventual loss, and the lessons she drew from the experience. “I have not felt a similar kind of grief since my mother died,” Harris said, her voice tinged with emotion. “But I remain committed to my country. To our country. And that has not changed.”
Harris’s message throughout the evening was one of persistence and hope—a theme that resonated deeply with attendees. Alisha Palmer, 26, told Peninsula Press that the biggest takeaway was Harris’s reminder that “no one can defeat your spirit unless you allow them to.” Another attendee, Brittany Bell, 36, echoed the sentiment: “It was great to see her doing well and just to give a gleam of hope in the state of the country. I feel really inspired to just fight, still fight.”
But the evening was not solely devoted to personal reflection. Harris also used her platform to advocate for Proposition 50, a measure on the November 2025 California ballot that would temporarily redraw the state’s congressional districts. The move, she argued, was necessary to counteract recent gerrymandering efforts in Texas that have tilted the balance toward Republican control. If passed, California’s new districts would remain in effect until 2030, potentially yielding additional Democratic seats in Congress. When Harris urged the crowd to support Prop 50, the response was deafening—cheers and applause drowned out her voice for nearly half a minute. “I was just in Texas yesterday,” Harris said when the noise finally subsided. “Let me tell you, Texans are like, ‘Alright, cousin California, do that thing.’”
Hughley’s questions kept the conversation lively, sometimes veering into uncomfortable territory. He pressed Harris on the emotional toll of the 2024 election and challenged her to consider what might have led to a different outcome. “How many days do you think—or what circumstances could have made—the optimal chance for success?” he asked. Harris paused before answering, “I don’t know. But I know we needed more time.” Still, she insisted that the present moment was not to be squandered. “Now we’re at this moment in time. And we do have time,” she said. “Let’s not let it go to waste.”
While Harris’s official book tour has taken her to cities like New York, Houston, and upcoming stops in Canada and the UK, it was an off-schedule appearance in Los Angeles that grabbed national headlines earlier in the week. At a closed-door event called “A Day of Unreasonable Conversation,” Harris made waves with a pointed remark about the state of American politics. “There’s so much about this moment that is making people feel like they’ve lost their minds. When, in fact, these m********ers are crazy,” she said, according to video footage that quickly circulated online. Though she did not name names, the comment was widely interpreted as a jab at officials from the Trump administration.
The White House wasted little time issuing a rebuttal. Speaking to Fox News Digital on October 7, 2025, spokesperson Kush Desai fired back: “Kamala Harris should listen to an audio recording of her cackle of a laugh before calling anyone crazy.” The response was a not-so-subtle dig at Harris’s speaking style, which has been a frequent target of conservative critics. During the 2024 campaign, Donald Trump himself repeatedly referred to Harris as “Laughing Kamala” and mocked her public persona. “That laugh? That’s a laugh of a crazy person... Somebody convinced her, ‘Don’t, just don’t laugh. Don’t laugh under any circumstances,’” Trump told Fox News last year.
Despite the political barbs, Harris has remained focused on her memoir’s central message: the importance of telling one’s own story and confronting adversity head-on. At the Los Angeles event, she told attendees, “History is going to write about this. And it was important to me that that be told with my voice being present.” She urged cultural storytellers to reflect real emotions in their work, underscoring her belief in the power of narrative to shape public understanding.
Reviews of 107 Days have highlighted its insider perspective on a tumultuous period in American politics. As described in The Sydney Morning Herald, the memoir offers readers an unvarnished look at the pressure-cooker environment Harris faced after Biden’s exit and the sense of urgency that defined her campaign. The book also situates Harris’s experience within a broader context, noting the extraordinary circumstances of the 2024 race—including Trump’s survival of an assassination attempt and the deep divisions that continue to shape American political life.
In the crowded field of new non-fiction releases, 107 Days stands out for its blend of personal narrative and political analysis. The book has been featured alongside other notable memoirs, such as Melissa Leong’s Guts and Emily Gallagher’s Playtime, but Harris’s account of her brief and bruising campaign has captured the attention of readers seeking insight into the Democratic Party’s recent struggles and the state of the nation.
As the November election approaches, Harris’s voice—both in print and on stage—remains a rallying point for supporters and a lightning rod for critics. Whether advocating for Prop 50, reflecting on personal loss, or sparring with political opponents, Harris has made it clear that her story is far from over. For those in the Bay Area and beyond, her message is simple: persistence, hope, and the courage to keep fighting are more vital now than ever.
With the echoes of applause still ringing in the San Francisco Masonic, Harris’s call to action lingers—a reminder that, in politics as in life, the real work is never truly finished.
