First Lady Dr. Jill Biden has been facing all the challenges of her position with grace and conviction, qualities she links back to her picture-book childhood in Willow Grove, writes Mattie Kahn for Harper’s Bazaar.

In her memoir, Where the Light Enters, Biden recounts growing up as the eldest of five girls. She also idolizes the relationship of her parents who adored each other and provided unwavering support for their children.

“I believed that love conquers all, that justice would prevail,” she wrote.

She still believes she was right but she “soon realized a lot of the details had been omitted.”

Her first heartbreak came when she divorced her first husband. She was attending the University of Delaware and as she cherished her independence, instead of moving back in with her parents she decided to rent a small house in Chadds Ford.

She met Joe Biden in 1975, who had to propose five times before she said yes. Today, she is his biggest supporter and protector, going as far as to tackle a protestor who rushed him on stage – something she credits to being a true Philly girl.

Read more about Jill Biden and her upbringing and early childhood life in Montgomery County in Harper’s Bazaar.