It Shouldn't Be This Hard to Serve Your Country

“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“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“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“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

The Honorable David Shulkin, M.D. joined the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2015, first as Under Secretary for Health and then as the ninth Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was the only Obama holdover who served in the Cabinet within the Trump administration and the only one unanimously confirmed by the Senate. Prior to his government service, Shulkin worked in a number of health care administration roles, including as President and CEO of New York’s Beth Israel Medical Center and President of Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey. He is the Distinguished Health Policy Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, practices internal medicine in New York City and still advocates on behalf of veterans.