Parson to publish biography next year prior to leaving office

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Just months before his political career is over as Missouri’s governor, Mike Parson will be releasing a biography detailing his life to the governor’s office.

Parson said he never intended to be the governor of Missouri, but six and a half years later, he will complete his term in January 2025. He said he hopes his book, “No Turnin’ Back,” inspires others that everything happens for a reason.

“Do you know that if something happens to the governor, and you’re lieutenant governor, you would step in? Yes, but that rarely happens,” Parson said in an exclusive television interview with Missouri Capitol Bureau Chief Emily Manley. “I had no idea I was going to be governor, nor did I have any desire to be governor. I was going to finish it out [as lieutenant governor], go back home, and spend time with the family.”

But it did happen. Shortly after Parson was elected to the state’s second-highest office, former Governor Eric Greitens resigned, leaving Parson to assume the mantle.

“You cannot imagine from my perspective what it was like to walk into that room, but the reality of it was there were more cameras, more flashes, more clicks, and it was just deafening to walk in there,” Parson said, recalling his first press conference as governor. “I knew when they opened the doors, there was no turning back.”

The memory of his press conference as the top leader of the state is now the name of his biography, “No Turnin’ Back.”

The 300-page book will detail the life of Missouri’s 57th governor, from his time in the Army to becoming a law enforcement officer, a sheriff, and then a member of the General Assembly. The biography is being written by the husband of the governor’s deputy chief of staff.

“I hope somebody will read this thing and realize you can start from the most humble beginnings and go anywhere you want to go,” Parson said. “I think you’re going to find out there’s no political gain here whatsoever in the book, and if somebody thinks it’s going to be this big political read, they are going to be disappointed.”

Parson said he never had a desire to be involved with politics, but that changed when his sheriff at the time approached him and asked him to take his place.

“I remember when I was younger, people would come to my dad when they were running for office, but I didn’t understand any of it at the time,” Parson said. “I never intended to be sheriff to start off with, but the sheriff in Polk County decided he was going to retire and told me he wanted me to run to take his place.”

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After stepping down as sheriff, Parson said he was approached on the golf course when out with friends, including Ronnie Miller, who represented the House district Parson lived in but was term-limited.

“We were just out there shooting the breeze a little bit, and he said, ‘Why don’t you run for my job,’ and that’s the first time that thought had ever come into my mind,” Parson said.

Parson spent six years in the House, seven in the Senate, and less than two years in the lieutenant governor’s office before becoming governor. He was then reelected to his role as governor in 2020.

Born in Wheatland, Missouri, as the youngest of four boys, Parson said readers will find out things they didn’t know about Missouri’s governor.

“I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life and that’s in the book, but you’re going to have to get the book to read all of them,” Parson said.

Besides the unexpected call to lead the state more than five years ago, add in droughts, floods, civil unrest, a deadly duck boat accident, and a pandemic. Parson said his time in the governor’s office has been anything but boring.

“Then you’re talking about replacing five statewide elected officials when you’re governor,” Parson said. “That’s never happened in our state’s history. Just all these things were going on throughout the whole entire time.”

Author Jim Jones also interviewed Parson’s family and friends for the book, including those from his time in the gas station business, and explained the schedule of a governor.

“It talks about those instances where you give up a good portion of your life, your personal life, when you just think about the basic freedoms of just going to the grocery store or go to a pharmacy, or you just want to go out and eat,” Parson said.

In hopes of inspiring others, the state’s 57th governor says this will be the bookend of his political career.

“Once I leave, there’s no turning back,” Parson said. “I’m not turning back. I’m going home.”

Even though the book won’t be released until March, you can pre-order a copy now.

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