Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation

This book is a revelation. I cannot stop recommending it to everyone I know. What I love about this book is that Petersen eloquently weaves research, history, interviews with millennials, and her own thoughts into a cohesive narrative that helps millennials (and anyone really) better understand how economic trends in the past and the present shaped boomers, which in turn shaped boomer parenting of millennials, and that parenting in combination with current economic trends, has contributed to how millennials operate today. Petersen's main takeaway about parenting in the '80s and '90s is that there was a movement toward raising a cultivated person (music lessons, cultural exposure, etc.) to create someone well-rounded, often tied to the idea of getting into the right college. Those millennial children, unsurprisingly, took this to heart and are incredibly hard workers with very different ideas about what work means than in the past. Meanwhile, the economy tanked and social and economic structures fell apart, so it was harder for them to achieve what their parents had set them up for. Petersen then moves into talking about how the 21st century workplace operates, related to technology and work ethic. She closes with a chapter on millennial parenting and how all of this has contributed to the raising of the next generation. As a warning, this is not uplifting.I appreciated the fun tone, despite the overall gloomy topic of the book. I also appreciate that Petersen did a decent job of highlighting how all of this is tied to class, race, gender, urbanness/ruralness, etc.I walked away feeling like I better understood why my boomer parents did some of the things that they did. I am admittedly not technically a millennial, although I am right on the cusp with millennial and GenX. It also allowed me to reflect upon my current parenting practices and how these economic and social legacies are impacting the things that I prepare my own children for. I have already started being more conscious about some of this and ask myself why I make some choices and how they may be tied to bigger picture questions about how we value work and achievement in our society.I think that this would make for a great *serious* book club read (not a skim and drink a lot of wine book club). I also think that it would be a useful read for high school or college students to get a better sense of the history that impacts them. The constant critical nudges that Petersen gives the reader would be especially useful for someone younger. For example, pensions and unions and what happened to them and why they are even more important now.I also think that this could be an interesting book to pair with How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi. Kendi examines essentially the same time frame (his parents are boomers, he is a millennial) and like Petersen, historicizes societal changes that readers may not be aware of. I think that Petersen sometimes answers some of Kendi's questions and vice versa.I hope that this book becomes like Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed in that it is a book with a lot of big ideas that is accessible to a broader audience and because of that, there was wider discussion of the issues raised in the book (and perhaps some change?).I don't have anything critical to say about this book, except for that I was already fairly familiar with some of the issues that Petersen raised, so I did skim through some of the background sections of some of the chapters. But it wasn't problematic at all.This is a great fairly short read, well researched, and well written (and so concise! I don't know how she packs so much into a sentence) with a fun tone. Pick it up and let it sink in. And then start being more vocal about the structures that have led to a burnout epidemic and what can be done about it.

A lot of things that this author brought up throughout the book really hit home. While I was born in 1989 somewhat mid-millennial. Many things matched up with what I had experienced. At that moment, I felt relieved because finally perceived the truth of our generation beings. When I struggled with jobs and all…my parents couldn’t understand it. No matter how much I tried to explain the struggle, it just fell flat. When my father got laid off in his late 50s…he finally understood the short taste of searching for work in this hellscape. The author did so well to explain things that are so relatable and yet clear enough to understand by outsiders.

This book is great. I am in a non-fiction kick, but this one really hits home. I have never identified as a "millennial" since I was raised more like my pre millennial siblings, but this book is the first time I will agree I am a millennial. I identify with the burnt out millennial described in this book. I went to school and got two degrees (putting myself in huge student loan debt) because I was told I would be set for life and get any job I wanted. LiES! I am broke and unemployed in my 30s because degrees mean NOTHING to hiring managers anymore. I worked a lot of different jobs throughout school in several industries (anything to pay for some school, to live off, and to save for my future) but now employers do not want to hire me because I tried different industries while in school! Employers want a degree and 4+ year experience for entry level jobs...... see the problem? Millenials understand the problem. The problem is the broken system that we cannot fix!Everyone should read this!Millenial parents should read about how they set up our generation for failure!Millennial should read to UNDERSTAND they are NOT alone! I never realized how true and real this problem is! It is not just me!Great book! Great read! Real! Honest! True!