It Shouldn't Be This Hard to Serve Your Country

Our Broken Government and the Plight of Veterans

By: David Shulkin

Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May, David Shulkin

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.

Critic reviews

"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

Wish there were more leaders like him

Great book with lots of insight into the VA system and the important role the VA plays for our nation's heros.

Great look into the broken VHA System

This gives a great insight in the concerns of why the VHA is such a broken system. It will get you to realize it starts at the top and works its way down. Why is it so hard to serve our veterans. This is a good example of why we should not favor government run health care because this is a good example of why.

Provides Additional Insight

Very enlightening about what is happening behind the scenes. The author not only provides an understanding of what occurred within VA during his tenure but also clarification of how the current administration works. It sounds like what is happening is a gang or mafia mentality. This explains why there is such high turnover and so many infilled positions. Toxic environments are difficult enough but when paired with the scrutiny of the public eye, it is overwhelming.

Every VA Employee should read/listen to this book.

This is a powerful witness to the passion and commitment for all who work for the VA have to our nations' Veterans.

Great book and a very important topic!

Captivating, intriguing, insightful, and wonderfully narrated. This book highlights the political nuances of serving in one of our nation's highest cabinet level agency positions.