Ann Romney

Cathleen Falsani 11-05-2013

Ann Romney holds a copy of her latest book. Photo via RNS/by Josh Morgan, Orange County Register

Ann Romney is a gracious woman.

Such is my first and lasting impression of Mitt Romney’s wife of 44 years and matriarch of a Romney clan that includes the couple’s five sons and more than 20 grandchildren.

When I arrived at a Mormon bookstore on a recent Thursday evening, the line of fans waiting to get Romney’s autograph on her new book, The Romney Family Table: Sharing Home-Cooked Recipes and Favorite Traditions, extended around the block.