I enjoy Anne Helen Petersen's writing overall (I've read and enjoyed her other two books as well as a lot of her writing on Buzzfeed) but this book seemed a little too neat. I did enjoy the piece that was the impetus for this book on burnout when it first came out, but this book didn't add TOO much to what was already in the article, just a bunch of anecdotes to flesh out the already-apparent conclusions. Still, it was an interesting read and learning about the origins of our burnout culture was helpful to me. I did find some of the anecdotes to be cherry-picked (especially the section on hobbies - I know lots of adults with regular hobbies that aren't commodified). But overall an interesting read, even if it didn't break any new ground

Overall, I can see myself recommending this book, though I do have personal reservations on it. I'm a millennial who is pretty Online myself, so a lot of the content felt familiar and understandable to me. I think the writer has a great style and voice, and wove research and interviews pretty seamlessly. I think it's broken down and presented well enough that people who aren't millennials can definitely still "get it," and her presentation of Boomers was generous enough that it won't ostracize older readers. I like that the overall takeaway of the book is to work for structural change (particularly via legislation, our government, etc) versus individualistic self-care practices.

All of that said, some parts of the book didn't work as well for me. While I was very glad to see interviews included and to see race, sexual orientation, and so on identified for everyone, I kept thinking about what a different and unique text it would be if it was one of those people writing it. That's not. a slight against the writer, but a bigger picture question of whether or not we need more financially secure, middle-class white people talking about these issues, while giving minor lip-service to people who are marginalized. The "our" and "we" in the book kept reminding me that this was a book by and for the upper-middle-class (or those who want to identify that way, one way or another) which felt disappointing. I was also surprised that in the entire marriage/children section, queer people were minimal, and only one person was raising a child with a same-sex partner. There was also very little attention given to people who are homeless, disabled people, and other marginalizations beyond the more mainstream ones (like race).