Being unburdened by what has been and life lessons from VP Kamala Harris

5 questions with the author of We're Speaking, Hitha Palepu

Today we have a 5-question interview with Hitha Palepu, author of We're Speaking: The Life Lessons of Kamala Harris: How to Use Your Voice, Be Assertive, and Own Your Story, which is now out in paperback. You can buy the book on Amazon.

I am giving away 5 copies of the book if you subscribe to this substack (free or paid!) and comment on the IG post about it! Promo ends August 15

What is your favorite Kamala Harris quote and why?

Until recently, it’s been various versions of “what can be, unburdened by what has been.” Being the first and only much of my professional career (the only woman, the youngest, one of the only people of color) left me feeling lesser than a lot of the time. These words helped me channel some confidence when I knew I was walking into those rooms, and forced to focus on what could be on the other side of that meeting or deal.

These days, it’s “you think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.” Not only do I hear the first part of the quote from my own parents, the latter quote is such an important reminder to zoom out and consider if the issue you’re facing is that big of a deal. I also dig the remix. 

How has Kamala Harris influenced your life? What inspiration do you suggest we take away from your book?

Not to sound obnoxious and encourage you to read the book, but this book is so special to me because it blends Kamala’s biography with how I’ve adopted every Kamalaism into my own life and specific tips and tactics to help readers do the same. Writing equally about her professional and personal lives was very important to me - our lives are a messy blending of both and I’ve never loved how books focus solely on one of these lives. The lesson I wrote first and talk about the most is owning your name and your multitudes. Too often, people will try to shrink us into boxes for their own comfort, and mispronouncing of names (either intentional or accidental) and defining us by only one identity or role is a choice I fully reject. I refuse to be diminished for any one’s comfort. If you can pronounce Dostoevsky and accept Elon Musk as the CEO of multiple companies, you can pronounce Hitha and accept my multi-hyphenated self.

Everyone is a bit surprised at the switch in messaging from malarky to weird. Kamala has changed the tenor from ‘an assault on democracy’ to ‘a fight for our freedom.’ Were you surprised about this messaging under Harris’s leadership?

I personally wasn’t, but I was thrilled to see how quickly it was received and ran with. Kamala called Trump weird back in 2019 (in reference to him stalking Hillary Clinton across the debate stage and how she’d respond). On the more serious theme shift, I think she’s the perfect champion for freedom. During her time as Vice President, she’s been the administration’s most visible and vocal champion for abortion rights and reproductive healthcare, as well as gun violence and voting rights. The ‘freedom’ message is the right one for this moment and one the Democrats can go offense on.

To watch the campaign (especially the team behind @kamalahq) run with these moments and embrace them is refreshing, bold, and reminds me of the energy of her early 2020 run. When Kamala is allowed to be herself, she’s incredible - joyful, disarming, gives as good as she gets, and powerful.

This week you released the paperback edition, but you first published this book in 2021. Why did you decide to write a book about Kamala Harris?

Kamala Harris became my mentor-from-afar back in 2013, after she’d been elected AG of California and had successfully negotiated with the major banks for a record high settlement for her state’s homeowners. I remember being on a work trip, sitting on my hotel bed answering emails, with CNN on in the background. A women strode up to the podium and begin speaking about the settlement, and my eyes and ears perked up to see someone who looked like she could be my cousin deliver such powerful remarks. I’m fairly certain I never finished the email I was working on and immediately went down a Google rabbit hole researching Kamala, and started a Notes app notebook with my favorite quotes, article links, and photos (for work style inspiration) of Kamala. This note grew as time went on and my own career in pharma and writing grew. When I was approached to write We’re Speaking in mid-November 2020, it felt like fate and it truly flowed out of me over the next 3 months.

How do you have hope?

I’ve taken a page out of your book (literally) and choose hope because I reject the alternative. We’ve lived a worst case scenario for the past 8 years and I refuse to sit back and accept any more. I have hope for my parents, who are here and embody the best of this country. I have hope for my sons, who have learned that citizenship is a practice and not something to take for granted. I have hope because I have seen what we can do when we choose what could be, versus what we’ve been burdened with. The promise of America is just that - a promise. Hope + consistent action will help make that promise a reality.

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