{"product_id":"in-other-words-leadership-how-a-young-mothers-weekly-letters-to-her-governor-helped-both-women-brave-the-first-pandemic-year-9781952143946","title":"In Other Words, Leadership: How a Young Mother's Weekly Letters to Her Governor Helped Both Women Brave the First Pandemic Year","description":"\u003cp\u003eMarch 2020. Recently-widowed Governor Janet Mills sits alone in Maine's executive mansion, facing an impossible choice: impose unprecedented COVID restrictions on her state, knowing it will destroy livelihoods and trigger fierce opposition. An hour away in the remote Maine woods, young mother and homesteader Ashirah Knapp watches her family's world unravel--then does something unexpected. She picks up a pen and writes the governor a letter of support, promising to send one every week \"until we are through this time.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat follows is an extraordinary correspondence between two women from opposite ends of Maine's social spectrum, navigating not just the pandemic but the defining moments of our era: vaccine development and skepticism, George Floyd's murder and nationwide protests, the January 6th Capitol attack. Through handwritten letters never intended for publication and the governor's private journal, these women discover their shared values and what it truly means to lead. Shannon A. Mullen weaves this intimate, behind-the-scenes account into a powerful celebration of civility, compassion, and resilience--proof that even in our most divided times, grace and understanding can prevail.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis edition includes a new foreword from Dr. Nirav Shah and discussion questions for reading groups.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShannon A. Mullen is a journalist, author, screenwriter, playwright, podcast host and film producer, who has been telling stories in one form or another since childhood. She grew up in the White Mountains and Lakes Region of New Hampshire and studied pre-veterinary medicine in college after misinterpreting a love of James Herriot's books as an inclination toward animal husbandry. She then earned a graduate degree in broadcast journalism and spent more than a decade reporting for national programs on public radio, including\u003ci\u003e Morning Edition\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAll Things Considered\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWeekend Edition\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eMarketplace\u003c\/i\u003e while also producing written journalism that appeared in such outlets as \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e. More recently she branched out into writing for the film industry and is currently developing multiple projects for the stage and screen.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Islandport Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52034146894098,"sku":"9781952143946","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_93294d9b-ad7d-4a81-ab2a-bc933e105f49.jpg?v=1770986963","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/in-other-words-leadership-how-a-young-mothers-weekly-letters-to-her-governor-helped-both-women-brave-the-first-pandemic-year-9781952143946","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}