Listen free for 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Can't Even cover art

Can't Even

Written by: Anne Helen Petersen
Narrated by: Anne Helen Petersen
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $37.53

Buy Now for $37.53

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

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.

What listeners say about Can't Even

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    50
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    47
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    44
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • DM
  • 2020-11-02

Hit the nail on the head

As the title suggests in saying "how millenials became...", this book is a history lesson, guiding the reader through the way generational trends led us here. With every line, I felt like the author had articulated my thoughts exactly. Although we're exhausted, I hope Millenials read this and realize our generation has a lot of power through buying and voting, for example, to make real change. But as the author suggests, we need to look at ourselves first and how our actions promote the very culture that's killing us.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Eye opening

I’ve read several of the books Anne refers to, and yet I found this book very eye opening. She does a great job building her arguments. I hope that we as a society are tilting toward the paradigm shift described in this book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Well Done and Engaging.

Great book, I didn't connect to all of it but enjoyed the book regardless.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Game changer in my life

Ce libre m’a fait réalisé beaucoup de choses.
Plusieurs interviews de gens comme normaux ayant vécu différentes formes de burnout.
Excellentes recherches de la part de l’autrice, très bien documenté.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A thorough examination of the problem- but no solutions

I was waiting for the author to explain how we effectively enact legislation and social change to prevent catastrophic consequences of burnout, economic precarity, debt, mental health etc. But they never came. I think especially in a post-pandemic world we all know what is wrong…but how do we fix it and how do we mobilize?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Performance

Author is an excellent narrator and outlines the issues we face in our current society. Great Read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

what a great read!

I'm not sure if it's because I'm millenial or if we live in a world where we as young adults are hated upon for reasons out of our control but Peterson captured what I've been struggling to say in book that may have changed my life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good info, a little tough to chew

Check the sample - I did not love this tone at every moment of the book. Some funny parts are wasted! Exceptional research from a qualified writer, I always enjoy Peterson’s perspectives and voice. It’s a bit dark - well worth reading but take this in doses!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

not just for millenials

Loved the detailed research. Great for parents and for anyone working with 18-40 year olds. I also learned a lot about my own learned behaviors.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!