Welcome to the United States of Anxiety by Jen Lancaster ISBN: 9781542007948
Published by Amazon Publishing on September 24, 2020
Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction
Pages: 288
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A Wall Street Journal bestseller.
New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster is here to help you chill the hell out.
When did USA become shorthand for the United States of Anxiety? From the moment Americans wake up, we're bombarded with all-new terrifying news about crime, the environment, politics, and stroke-inducing foods we've been enjoying for years. We're judged by social media's faceless masses, pressured into maintaining a Pinterest-perfect home, and expected to base our self-worth on retweets, faves, likes, and followers. Our collective FOMO, and the disparity between the ideal and reality, is leading us to spend more and feel worse. No wonder we're getting twitchy. Save for an Independence Day-style alien invasion, how do we begin to escape from the stressors that make up our days?
Jen Lancaster is here to take a hard look at our elevating anxieties, and with self-deprecating wit and levelheaded wisdom, she charts a path out of the quagmire that keeps us frightened of the future and ashamed of our imperfectly perfect human lives. Take a deep breath, and her advice, and you just might get through a holiday dinner without wanting to disown your uncle.
Credibility: 7, many citations but no counterarguments or consideration of anything that conflicts with the authors personal experience. This is definitely more of a memoir than an unbiased look at the cause for rising anxiety in the States.
Authenticity: 8, I’m sure there are other books investigating the concept, but Lancaster’s sense of humor definitely makes this a unique take and lends a more intimate, personal air to the topic.
Writing: 6, she does this thing where she sets up an assertion, introduces a new thought with one sentence, jumps back to restate the previous assertion baldly, brings up a new example of the new thought…the disorganization made it feel like she was padding the book or looking for excuses to mention specific people/events she thinks are funny even though they don’t relate to the topic at hand.
Personal Impact: 7, it got me thinking about my own rise in anxiety, especially impactful when she discusses child rearing differences without blaming an entire generation. I agree with her that modern marketing (especially the rise in disaster capitalism) is at the heart of a lot of it, but her relating of these things to Maslow’s Heirarchy of needs made it a digestible read.
Intrigue: 6, I didn’t feel driven to read this book instead of doing other things. I plugged away at it a little bit at a time, when I had nothing else to do, so I could finish it for the Magical Readathon.
Logic: 7, it’s presented in a way that’s easy to understand, if entirely biased.
Enjoyment: 7, it was an entertaining read but not terribly impactful.
Read for the Orilium Academy 2022 Spring Equinox readathon.
*Many thanks to Book Roast for creating and sharing this book rating system!
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
I really do enjoy this review system, I must say! I was curious about this book as well- I don't often read non-fiction, but I do enjoy a humorous yet relevant memoir from time to time. Don't love the idea of padding the book, but it seems like a quick enough read that it might be worth it!
Thanks! G is a genius (it's really helping me clarify what I like about a book and why, which is great). It's a quick enough read I think you'll be fine with it- overall, there were enough moments of recognizing the absurdity of our current culture that it was amusing. BUT it was written pre-pandemic, and I feel like maybe now we're in year 2 of the plague I need to make sure the author is OK.