Today Michelle and I are remembering those we lost that day, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the wars that followed. We pray for their families. And we hope Americans everywhere remember the true lesson of 9/11: that we can survive even our darkest days as long as we move forward as one nation and one people.

But in the days that followed, we felt something else, too. Pride in the rescue workers who had rushed to the scene, and the passengers who had stormed the cockpit. Admiration for the men and women who left behind lives of comfort to serve their country. A deep resolve that nothing would break the will of a truly United States of America.

If you were young in 2001, or weren’t even born yet, it can be hard to imagine what 9/11 felt like. The shock of that beautiful, cloudless morning. The heartbreak of the families whose loved ones were taken with such swiftness and cruelty. The realization that the forces of malevolence and violence were closer, and the future less certain, than we knew.

Michelle and I hope you’ll check out their story and incredible performance:

Music has always had the power to connect and inspire us. At the opening of the Obama Presidential Center, Eddie Vedder and the young people from Guitars Over Guns wrote and performed a profoundly moving song, ‘Better Believe,’ that spoke to each of them and all of us.

This summer, more than 50 young men from Chicago Public Schools attended the @mbk_alliance-Obama Leadership Academy to get ready for high school. They earned credits toward graduation, developed important life skills, and built connections. We’re so proud of their hard work, and can’t wait to see what they do.

I invited some friends to explore why these books resonate, how they can shape our understanding of ourselves and each other, and why literature matters now more than ever. I hope you’ll check it out starting September 24 on Audible and discover or rediscover books that stay with you long after you read them.

A while back, I revisited a few of the books that made an impact on me as a young man, influencing how I think about family, faith, race, politics and America: The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré.