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Can't Even

How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation

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Can't Even

By: Anne Helen Petersen
Narrated by: Anne Helen Peterson
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

An incendiary personal and cultural investigation of burnout.

Are you tired, stressed and trying your best but somehow still not doing enough? Has the bottom half of your to-do list been locked in place for months? Is everything becoming work as your job seeps into your evenings, you monetise your hobbies and perform your leisure time on social media?

This is burnout - what increasingly seems like the defining feature of our lives. We are exhausted. But burnout is not a personal failing. It is a creeping part of modern culture, shaped by deep-rooted political, historical and economic forces, and it is affecting how we work, parent, socialise and inhabit the world.

Anne Helen Petersen identifies burnout with moving clarity - what it feels like and how it manifests across communities. Through her own experience, original interviews and detailed analysis, she traces the institutional and generational causes of burnout. And, in doing so, she helps us to let go of our guilt and imagine a possible future.

Reassuring, insightful and galvanising, Can't Even is essential listening for all of us.

©2021 Anne Helen Peterson (P)2021 Penguin Audio Labor & Industrial Relations Politics & Government Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Psychology & Interactions
All stars
Most relevant  
Petersen spoke to my exhausted burnt out soul in this book. She articulates the problems that plague us in contemporary society and challenges these destructive norms.

best book on everything wrong with the world

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This was an exceptional book.
As an millennial myself this book was so eye opening, an incredibly written overview of the current millennial challenges. It doesn’t provide an answer, however it does allow the reader, if millennial to see the landscape of their life from a mountain top rather then the day to day life we are currently leading. I’m on my second read through and it’s exceptionally well researched and crosses over many demographics. Written from an American perspective I still found it very relevant to an Australian Sydney based millennial such as myself. Highly recommended.

As important as the feminine mystique

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It was genuinely relieving to listen to this book. Never have I been able to, nor have I heard someone else, so clearly articulate the millennial struggle. It’s tough to reconcile how entrenched a lot of these societal ideals are in us, but they are & it’s really up to us to navigate & challenge how we deal with the type of system that wants to burn us out. Thanks Anne for putting this all down on paper & speaking the unspoken truth of many generations; I’ll be listening to it again!

Hard relate

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.