Ms. Bush, who lives in Texas, recently visited Manhattan to discuss her idea for the book with several publishing executives. She had a long lunch with biographer Kitty Kelley, who wrote a controversial 1991 portrait of Nancy Reagan and currently is researching her own book on the Bush family.

The two women discussed the possibility of Ms. Bush acting as an important source for Ms. Kelley in addition to writing her own book, Ms. Kelley’s agent, Wayne Kabak, told The Observer. Such a turn of events could provide Ms. Kelley with invaluable inside assistance for her research on the family.

Mrs. Bush is in the middle of a divorce battle with Neil Bush, and the fight has turned nasty on both sides. The Observer has obtained a deposition given by Mr. Bush on March 4, in which he described his marriage as "broken" and "loveless."

Meanwhile, Mrs. Bush’s talk of a book may merely be an effort to ratchet up the pressure on Mr. Bush to give her a more generous settlement than he has offered in the past.

Still, Mrs. Bush insists she has a good story to tell. She had a seat at the kitchen table as the family twice reached the pinnacle of American politics and power. She married Neil Bush in 1980, the year Mr. Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush, was elected Vice President. During her 23-year marriage, the elder Mr. Bush and his eldest son, George W. Bush, were both elected President, while another member of the family, Jeb, was elected governor of Florida.

In her book, Ms. Bush wants to detail her disillusionment with the family. According to her associates, she has grown despondent about her treatment at the hands of the Bushes. She said family members have turned their backs on her ever since last year, when she learned that her husband wanted to end their marriage after carrying on an extramarital affair with one of Barbara Bush’s former assistants.

But her disappointment with the family is only one of many subjects she wants to address, those close to her say. In her book, she has told associates, she hopes to show that the family has relentlessly managed its public image to a far greater extent than previously known.