Dear Madam President is an empowering letter from Jennifer Palmieri to the first woman president, and by extension, to all women seeking success in any field. The book reflects on Palmieri's experiences during Hillary Clinton's campaign and offers practical advice for redefining expectations for women in leadership roles. It aims to create a blueprint for future female leaders, turning the lessons from the 2016 election into a powerful call for change.
In this memoir, Mitch Albom recounts his weekly visits with Morrie Schwartz, his former college professor who is suffering from ALS. Through their conversations, Morrie imparts valuable life lessons on topics such as love, family, and the meaning of life. The book is a poignant exploration of the human condition and the importance of living a meaningful life.
In 'Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue,' Neale Donald Walsch engages in a profound and thought-provoking dialogue with God. The book was inspired by Walsch's personal crisis, during which he wrote an angry letter to God and subsequently felt answers filling his mind. The dialogue covers various topics such as the nature of God, the importance of love over fear, and the empowerment of individuals to create their own reality. It challenges traditional religious views and offers a refreshing and alternative spiritual perspective, emphasizing that we are all part of a unified, divine presence and that our thoughts and actions shape our world[1][3][4].
As US surgeon general from 2014 to 2017, Vivek Murthy visited communities across the United States to talk about issues like addiction, obesity, and mental illness. But he found that what Americans wanted to talk to him about the most was loneliness.
Loneliness isn’t simply painful, it’s lethal. Several meta-studies have found the mortality risk associated with loneliness is higher than that of obesity and equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes per day. So, Murthy decided to label loneliness a public health “epidemic,” a term that medical professionals don’t throw around lightly.
Murthy’s advocacy has changed the national discourse around loneliness. However, this isn’t a conversation simply about loneliness as a public health problem: It is about loneliness as a deeply painful lived experience — one that both Murthy and I are all too familiar with.
There’s a lot in this conversation. Murthy’s explanation of how loneliness acts on the body is worth the time, all on its own. It’ll change how you see the relationship between social experience and physical health. But the broader message here is deeper: You are not alone in your loneliness. None of us are. And the best thing we can do is, often, helping someone else out of the very pit we’re in.
References:
Ezra's conversation with Johann Hari on the causes of depression
Murthy's article that called loneliness an "epidemic"
KFF/Economist poll of loneliness in US, UK and Japan
Book recommendations:
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albolm
Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch
Dear Madam President by Jennifer Palmieri
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The Gray Area with Sean Illing 
