Biden Administration Reads

In 2013, Biden’s oldest son Beau was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The title of the book comes from Beau’s request of his father that “no matter what happens, you’re going to be all right.” “For twelve months, while Beau fought for and then lost his life, the vice president balanced the twin imperatives of living up to his responsibilities to his country and his responsibilities to his family. And never far away was the insistent and urgent question of whether he should seek the presidency in 2016.”

Vice President Harris’s 2019 memoir about growing up as the daughter of immigrants in Oakland, CA, becoming a prosecutor, District Attorney for San Francisco, attorney general for the state of California, and senator for California, the latter of which she served from 2017 until January 2021 when she became vice president of the United States (she typed, subduing her all-caps). The promo copy describes it as “a master class in problem solving, in crisis management, and leadership in challenging times,” which feels appropriate.

Susan Rice is the new Director of the Domestic Policy Council and was previously National Security Advisor to President Obama and US Ambassador to the United Nations. This 2019 memoir discusses issues as wide ranging as “Black Hawk Down” in Somalia, the genocide in Rwanda, the East Africa embassy bombings in the late 1990s, Libya, Syria, a secret channel to Iran, the Ebola epidemic, and the opening to Cuba during the Obama years.” So. Quite a lot. Her Goodreads bio also says she serves on the board of Netflix (??), so try piecing those things together.

Nominee for Surgeon General, Murthy previously served in the position from 2014-2017. He founded the nonprofit Doctors for America, was the first surgeon general of Indian descent, and in this 2020 release, he argues that “loneliness is the underpinning to the current crisis in mental wellness and is responsible for the upsurge in suicide, the opioid epidemic, the overuse of psych meds, the over-diagnosing and pathologizing of emotional and psychological struggle.” This came out in April 2020, and 10 months into lockdown, this message feels very “yep, seems right.” Fortunately, he doesn’t only diagnose the problem, he also offers actionable solutions.