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Me Gov. Janet Mills & Shannon join dartmouth college leadership course
In a remote session of Prof. Anna Mahoney’s undergrad course on “Gender and Policy Leadership” Gov. Mills told students reading In Other Words, Leadership for the class that finding common ground between stakeholders is essential to governance. Shannon discussed the challenges she faced as a journalist in writing for a broad audience about one of the most divisive periods in US history.
In Other words, leadership featured on Bostonia’s fall “reading list”
Boston University featured Shannon’s book in a selection of new titles by alums: “Mullen’s true story of a young mother’s letters to ME Governor Janet Mills during the pandemic, and how the correspondence helped the two survive the challenges of 2020.”
Me Gov. Janet Mills & Shannon join former MA Gov. Deval Patrick’s graduate course at harvard’s kennedy school
In a remote session of “Leading Through Public Crises: High-Stakes Decision Making in Chaotic Events”, Gov. Mills reflected candidly on Maine’s pandemic lockdown among her other COVID-19 judgment calls, touting the role of her stellar cabinet and other trusted advisers. Shannon shared her perspective on the governor’s rapport with the public, especially when her decisions tested the public’s trust, having studied both intensively in the course of writing her new book In Other Words, Leadership.
MSNBC’s Morning Joe: Governor's pandemic letters inspire book
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Janet Mills of Maine and a young mother, Ashirah Knapp, exchanged heartfelt handwritten letters… inspiring author Shannon Mullen to weave their experiences into a book titled "In Other Words, Leadership." Gov. Mills and Shannon Mullen join Morning Joe to discuss the book.
— Morning Joe with Joe Scarborough 24 Aug., 2023
Headshot by Thomas Petzwinkler
Down East: "THE SUBTITLE DOESN’T QUITE CAPTURE WHAT AUTHOR SHANNON MULLEN HAS PRODUCED […]
[A]n exhaustive account of the impact on the pandemic on public and private life.”
— Down East Magazine | Will Grunewald, Sept. 2023
Photo by Thomas Petzwinkler
MSNBC: "This unlikely pen pal helped Gov. Janet Mills lead through the pandemic”
During the Covid-19 pandemic, a young mother wrote letters to the governor of Maine every week. Shannon Mullen’s book, “In Other Words, Leadership,” chronicles the support and inspiration that both women found in each other amid the crisis.
— MSNBC | Lauren Boone, 23 August, 2023
Photo: Chrisso Rheault
“Mills’S journal entries offered a peek into the pressure of being responsible for the health and safety of an entire state…”
— Bangor Daily News, 25 August, 2023
Photo by Thomas Petzwinkler
NPR: “'In Other Words, Leadership' chronicles a year of letters between Maine's governor and constituent…
It's as much a lesson in civics as it is civility in a time of turmoil.”
— Here & Now, from WBUR and NPR, 29 June, 2023
“A ray of light from the darkness of COVID-19…
Mullen, who has been a journalist for more than two decades, working at NPR and writing for The New Yorker and The Boston Globe, could sense a story beneath the surface of her conversation with the governor.”
— Nantucket Inquirer & Mirror, 17 August, 2023
“What we learned about Janet Mills in a book drawing from her pandemic journals…
There is still a human story here about the correspondence between Mills and Knapp and about what it is like to make decisions during a tough time.”
— The Daily Brief, Bangor Daily News, 25 Aug., 2023
“‘When I picked up this book to read it… I realized I had a new Maine classic in my hands.’
… [Author and historian Heather Cox] Richardson served as moderator for the discussion, asking Mullen and Mills questions about the book, the pandemic, and the impact of both on their lives and the state.”
— Lincoln County News, 18 July, 2023
Photo by Chrisso Rheault
“a story of civility, compassion, and connection in the face of fear and division.
It’s also a powerful meditation on leadership, and the burdens that come with it.”
— Holderness School Today, 2 August, 2023
“Book discussion in Downtown Bangor talks about letters that inspired leadership”
Gov. Janet Mills exchanged letters with Ashirah Knapp during the COVID-19 pandemic
— WABI | Sierra Whaley, 24 August, 2023
“[Wilder] introduced In Other Words, Leadership as “a book …with all of us in it.”
The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic was a reckoning, not only for politics, public health, safety and policy, but also for our collective emotional well-being. For many this was a deeply isolating time, defined by instability and loneliness. At the same time… the pandemic inspired new avenues for human connection.”
Boston globe: “Letters in a time of pandemic:
An engaging new book opens a window on Maine Governor Janet Mills’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
— Globe Columnist Scot Lehigh, 14 June, 2023
— Portland Press Herald, 5 June, 2023
“[Mullen’s] earnest approach will keep readers engaged.” — Kirkus Reviews
“In the book, author and NPR reporter Shannon A. Mullen shares the more than 40 handwritten letters Knapp sent to Mills, and reveals what life was like for Mills during that time.”
— The Courier-Gazette, 9 June, 2023
“Both Knapp and Mills expressed the difficulty they found in reliving 2020 through their personal words that were never intended for publication.”
— The Daily Bulldog, 9 June, 2023