Penn English lecturer Buzz Bissinger collaborated with United States Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) on Fetterman’s new memoir, titled “Unfettered.”
Bissinger, a 1976 College graduate, provided a template for the memoir while Fetterman supplied its content, according to a statement Crown Publishing provided to The New York Times. “Unfettered” chronicles Fetterman’s political career and lifelong struggles with mental health, including his six-week stay in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for clinical depression in 2023.
In a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, Bissinger wrote that his contract does not permit him to discuss the details of his involvement with the book’s writing. “This is John Fetterman’s book," Bissinger added.
Crown Publishing and Fetterman’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
In the memoir, Fetterman also discusses his physical health, culminating in his stroke four days before the 2022 Democratic primary election. He revealed that he had not seen a doctor for five years before the stroke, and that he had avoided taking his medications despite a history of health problems.
In the book, Fetterman writes that “in hindsight” he should have “quit” his senatorial race.
Bissinger has previous experience closely covering Pennsylvania politics.
Former Pennsylvania Governor and Penn lecturer Ed Rendell granted Bissinger “unprecedented access” to his administration to write a book during his time as mayor of Philadelphia. The text that resulted, “A Prayer for the City,” was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review in 1997.
Bissinger was previously a lecturer in the Penn Creative Writing Program and taught ENGL 3350: Long-Form Reported Nonfiction. He last taught at Penn during the fall 2024 semester.
He is the best-selling author of “Friday Night Lights,” which was later adapted into a movie and a television series. A 1998 Vanity Fair article by Bissinger, “Shattered Glass,” was also adapted into a 2003 movie of the same name.
Bissinger also assisted Caitlyn Jenner in writing her 2017 memoir, “The Secrets of My Life.”
Senior reporter Alex Dash leads coverage of politics and can be reached at dash@thedp.com. At Penn, he studies history and political science. Follow him on X @AlexBDash.
