Can't Even

How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation

By: Anne Helen Petersen

Narrated by: Anne Helen Petersen

An incendiary examination of burnout in millennials - the cultural shifts that got us here, the pressures that sustain it, and the need for drastic change.

Do you feel like your life is an endless to-do list? Do you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through Instagram because you’re too exhausted to pick up a book? Are you mired in debt, or feel like you work all the time, or feel pressure to take whatever gives you joy and turn it into a monetizable hustle? Welcome to burnout culture.

While burnout may seem like the default setting for the modern era, in Can’t Even, BuzzFeed culture writer and former academic Anne Helen Petersen argues that burnout is a definitional condition for the millennial generation, born out of distrust in the institutions that have failed us, the unrealistic expectations of the modern workplace, and a sharp uptick in anxiety and hopelessness exacerbated by the constant pressure to “perform” our lives online. The genesis for the book is Petersen’s viral BuzzFeed article on the topic, which has amassed over seven million reads since its publication in January 2019.

Can’t Even goes beyond the original article, as Petersen examines how millennials have arrived at this point of burnout (think: unchecked capitalism and changing labor laws) and examines the phenomenon through a variety of lenses - including how burnout affects the way we work, parent, and socialize - describing its resonance in alarming familiarity. Utilizing a combination of sociohistorical framework, original interviews, and detailed analysis, Can’t Even offers a galvanizing, intimate, and ultimately redemptive look at the lives of this much-maligned generation,and will be required listening for both millennials and the parents and employers trying to understand them.

©2020 Anne Helen Petersen (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

I’ve never felt more seen

Complex, thorough, and informative. I hadn’t been able to fully understand my professional trajectory as a female freelance art director until this book. I felt this book accessed a raw place in my body that was waiting to be acknowledged and hugged. Petersen’s work is a relief to those who have felt their society just isn’t quite right but can’t quite put their finger on a singular reason as to why. The reason is because there are many. If you are a millennial or wish to understand them more, check this out. To Anne, All I have is a heartfelt thank you. A raw, exhausted, but genuine, thank you. 🙏❤️✨

Eye opening

Being the oldest of the millennial generation and often refusing to identify with it, I figured this book would confirm all the reasons for which I don't identify with the generation. I was completely wrong. As a nearly 40 year old mother of 3 boys, married with a graduate degree in highly stressful job in healthcare during a pandemic crisis, this book was perfect timing! It opened my eyes on the fact that I am absolutely a millennial. It also really helped me understand how the generation came to be. I have so many things to reflect on after reading this book. Great combination of qualitative information from millenials and historical references to explain the driving forces behind who we are as a group. I anticipate I will read it again because I enjoyed it that much. Catapult for self discovery at a time in my life when I have the desire and confidence to explore what I want life to look like. Thank you to the author for this perspective.

she's right.

she's just right .. why do I have to say more audible? it's this fifteen words yet

Great insight for boomers

I’m a boomer parent of 2 young millennials. I often wondered why anxiety and depression is so rampant for the millennials (and younger generations) and this book provided some valuable insight. Its a wake up call for those trapped in the upward mobility rat race. The only deduction is I felt the author was a little to left leaning with her views on capitalism and specifically Private Equity.

Engaging and Topical

4 of 5 stars.

“Can’t Even” is an absorbing read chocked full of anecdotes from Millennials describing the circumstances of modern burnout. Covering a wide swath of Gen Y’s demographic, Anne Helen Petersen narrates a multiple aspects of this phenomenon, giving much to think about.

The good:
Anne Helen Petersen is a good writer and narrator whose prose flows nicely. Burnout is an important societal topic which she has researched in detail without becoming pedantic.

Observations and/or the less good:
The first half of the book is better than the second half where the narrative becomes less about how we find ourselves in this current situation of overwork/burnout and more about victimization and misapplied blame. At what point do valid observations become rants about how unfair things are?

Writers have their perspective and the author’s worldview as a former Manhattan journalist seeps into the narrative, becoming more political as the book progresses. While I, as a member of Gen X believe that the author correctly identifies a system which benefits a minority at the expense of others, her suggested solutions of more government policy and to a lesser extent an implied return/expansion of organized labor would create as many new problems as those they’re designed to solve.

Great Perspective!

This book did a great job of laying things out, and I'm glad there was a focus on systemic issues. I know too many people who feel like they aren't doing enough while they get paid a good third of what they should be.

This should be required reading for living gens

This book was perfect. The brief but thorough history on each generation provided such a clear understanding for why each generation sees and walks the world as they do. Well written..enjoyed it.

I feel this!!

Thank you, Anne, for writing and reading this book! This is so real, I identified with so much of it and it was good to hear about everything that I wasn’t aware of as well.

Loved every second!

I enjoyed every single second of this book. Anne Helen provides a great perspective alongside extensive and outstanding research. She is able to tell a story while detailing so much about millennials and what it truly means to experience burnout in today’s world. I found myself thinking (out loud at times) YES, me too!! and relating to many of the stories of those she interviews and wrote about. As a millennial myself, it is refreshing to hear tangible examples and data as to why many of us feel the way we do, and how society has positioned us to feel this way. 11/10 loved it.

Eye opening

I walked away from this book with a greater appreciation of the millennial voice. The social and economical pressures they are constantly under is eye opening. I do hope that this struggle results in real change.