Early in Clinton's life, he recalls listening to his family's stories of others and learning that no one is perfect but most people are good; that people can't be judged by their worst or weakest moments; that harsh judgments can make hypocrites of us all; that a lot of life is just showing up and hanging on; that laughter is often the best, and sometimes the only, response to pain.Following his defeat for second term as governor, Clinton remarks, "the system can only absorb so much change at once; no one can beat all the entrenched interests at the same time; and if people think you've stopped listening, you're sunk."

Early gaffes in Clinton's political career were a result, he believed, of taking too long to respond to attacks.

Clinton advisor Justin Cooper assisted him throughout the writing of the book, transcribing his handwritten drafts onto his computer and providing him with notes, quotes and data.

In his own book, Morris presented what he believed to be factual inaccuracies of different events Clinton depicted in My Life.

[7] White House intern Monica Lewinsky was also highly critical of the book, particularly the passages in which Clinton writes about his affair with her, saying that she had thought he would "correct the false statements he made when he was trying to protect the presidency.

"[8] Clinton earned US$30 million as of April 2008 from the sales of My Life and his follow-up book, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World.

The audiobook edition, read by Clinton and published by Random House Audio, won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.