It Shouldnt Be This Hard to Serve Yo..., David Shulkin
It Shouldnt Be This Hard to Serve Yo..., David Shulkin
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It Shouldn't Be This Hard to Serve Your Country
Our Broken Government and the Plight of Veterans

Author: David Shulkin

Narrator: Daniel Thomas May, David Shulkin

Unabridged: 11 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 10/22/2019

Synopsis

The former VA secretary describes his fight to save veteran health care from partisan politics and how his efforts were ultimately derailed by a small group of unelected officials appointed by the Trump White House.
Known in health care circles for his ability to turn around ailing hospitals, Dr. David Shulkin was originally brought into government by President Obama to save the beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs. When President Trump appointed him as secretary of the VA, Shulkin was as shocked as anyone.
Yet this surprise was trivial compared to what Shulkin encountered as secretary: a team of political appointees devoted to stopping anyone -- including the secretary himself -- who stood in the way of privatizing the agency and implementing their political agenda. In this uninhibited memoir, Shulkin opens up about why the government has long struggled to provide good medical care to military veterans and the plan he had to solve these problems. This is a book about the commitment we make to the men and women who risk their lives fighting for our country, how the VA was finally beginning to live up to it, and why the new administration may now be taking us in the wrong direction.

Reviews

Goodreads review by HR-ML on November 20, 2024

Dr. Shulkin served as Under Secretary of Veteran's Affairs under President Obama & Secretary of VA under Pres. Trump. He was the 1st Secretary of the VA to be an MD. The US has 20 million military veterans, 40% of whom live in rural areas. Dr. S's goals were to reduce wait time for a veteran to see......more

Goodreads review by DMC on November 03, 2019

As the daughter of an Air Force Veteran I was compelled to read former VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin’s book “It Shouldn't Be This Hard to Serve Your Country”. I was astounded by the inside story. This would make an incredible movie. Intrigue, backstabbing, an honorable VA secretary being maligned,......more

Goodreads review by Happymike21 on October 29, 2019

A fascinating new book about Dr. Shulkin’s challenges in Washington DC as Secretary of Veterans Affairs Department and caring for 9 million Veterans. President Trump called him ‘our David’ and ‘our 100-0 man’, the book reads like a novel. You will enjoy the book, I did. A zany pre-confirmation inter......more

Goodreads review by Mindy on October 25, 2019

Passionate insightful book. A must read for every veteran and for anyone who cares About our veterans and about our country and government. You will be amazed with what goes on .......more

Goodreads review by Ownbymom on November 01, 2019

The title of the book is very descriptive of the thesis. Shulkin served in both the Obama and Trump administrations in the VA. His greatest hindrance was what he refers to as the "politicals", a shadow group whose goal was (and I assume still is) the privatization of the VA. This would include the K......more

Quotes

"From the moment David Shulkin was appointed secretary of the VA, Trump's corporate henchmen put a target on his back to achieve their aim of shutting down the VA hospital system. Shulkin, the highest-ranking person to serve in both the Obama and Trump administrations, provides play-by-play detail of his tumultuous tenure and spells out the ongoing threats to the VA. A harrowing and important story."—Andy Slavitt, former acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

"This is a very important book. I hope Americans who care about our veterans will take the time to read it. The title of the book says it all, but what's inside is a compelling story-a cautionary tale for all citizens who care about recruiting talented people to serve our government."—Bob Kerrey, former senator, former governor of Nebraska, and recipient of the Medal of Honor

"A painful-to-swallow story of a political environment gone toxic. And as Dr. Shulkin points out, the casualty isn't the loss of another government servant-it's our veterans."—General (ret.) Stanley McChrystal

"I have known Dr. David Shulkin for a decade and this book is an honest and emotional account of what he sacrificed to serve the public and how much he cares for our nation's veterans. For anyone considering public service, this book is a must-read."—Chris Christie, 55th governor of New Jersey

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