Senator Lisa Murkowski, the independent-minded Republican from Alaska, often defied President Trump during his first term, breaking with him on key issues and nominations.

She's now opening up in a candid memoir called Far From Home, which she discussed recently with her Amna Voss.

Senator Murkowski, welcome to The News Hour. Thanks for joining us.

Great to be with you, Amna. So the why behind someone writing a book always fascinates me.

And in the very first pages, you really make it clear.

You say, my hope is when you learn my story, my struggles and my fears.

You'll realize that you can do this too.

We need you. Only good people can get our government back on track. Why is it that

you think good people, as you put it right now, don't necessarily want your job or want to join

government? I think first of all, people think it's too hard. In order to be in elected office,

I have to have some kind of a resume, right?

I've got to have built my way up in order to get to this position, and I don't have that.

Or perhaps they look at how you get there.

Quite honestly, in order to run a Senate race, it's expensive.

I don't want to deal with the fundraising.

I don't think that I can, and I don't have personal means to do it, and so that's a disqualifier.

But I think even more important is the sense that it's just such an awful environment

right now.

Yeah.

Is this fun? Is this rewarding?

When it seems like everyone is just bickering and we can't let those barriers get in the way of good people stepping forward to serve at any level.

We've got to keep reinforcing that it is average people that are willing to make a commitment

...