April/May 2026 | maconmagazine.com 77
Read more updates from Dr. Murthy and The
Together Project on his Substack blog "Staying Human" at
vivekmurthy.substack.com
their isolation, as well as help out others and make
satisfying changes in the world. Volunteering is a
mutual relationship that benefits both individuals
and the community in which they are placed.
I wondered what advice he would give to parents
or those who are in nurturing roles here in Macon,
in addition to fighting loneliness. His advice?
"I think as parents, we have to remember that the
most important thing we can do for our child is to
love our child and to make sure that they know that
they are loved," said Dr Murthy. "There's a lot of
things we want to do for our kids when we want to
keep them safe. We want to make sure that they're
educated and to make sure they have access
to opportunities, make sure they're physically
healthy. But at the end of the day, if you love your
child deeply and your child knows that that's one
of the greatest sources of protection and support,
you can give your child even long after you are
gone. And the second thing I would offer parents
is, I'd encourage parents to talk to other parents
about what they're going through, including their
challenges in parenting."
Murthy stated his time here will continue to stay
with him even after he returns home. "I'm very
grateful for that."
