By Roxanne Roberts @ WashingtonPost.com, Jan. 17

Two former White House social secretaries wanted to write a bipartisan memoir about working in the executive mansion. Then came the 2016 election, and their message evolved into a guide to the importance of civility and respect in modern America.

[.....] Bernard and Lea Berman, both former White House social secretaries, are co-authors of the new book “Treating People Well: The Extraordinary Power of Civility at Work and in Life.” Bernard worked for Barack and Michelle Obama, Berman for George W. and Laura Bush, but their job was the same: Make every person who walked through the door feel welcomed, valued and comfortable.

Then came the bitter election of 2016, and what started out as a bipartisan memoir about working in the White House evolved into a guide to the importance of civility and respect in modern America.“Some people heap disrespect on anyone who dares oppose them, tap into anger and manipulate it for their own benefit, and don’t seem to see anything wrong with that,” they write. “If bad behavior is contagious — as many studies have shown it is — we’re in an epidemic.” [....]