Title: Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time
Author: Brigid Schulte
First published March 11, 2014
353 pages, Hardcover
ISBN: 9780374228446 (ISBN10: 0374228442)
Rating: 3.82
Overview
Overwhelmed by Brigid Schulte is a must-read for anyone feeling the pressure of modern life. Schulte takes readers on a journey to understand why time pressure and the feeling of never having enough time is taking over our lives.
Through her deeply researched and honest storytelling, she explores the cultural and historical roots of the overwhelm and how it’s affecting our brains, relationships, and workplaces. Schulte shares her personal experience of feeling overwhelmed as a working mother of two and how a time-use researcher led her to discover the truth about leisure time.
She visits innovative workplaces and couples seeking to shift the division of labor more equitably, and even travels to the happiest country on earth to learn how they prioritize leisure time. With illuminating and hopeful answers, Schulte outlines the policy changes needed to achieve time serenity and provides the latest human performance and motivation science to guide us toward a more balanced life.
About the Author
Meet Brigid Schulte, a journalist with a stellar track record at the Washington Post and Washington Post magazine. Her work has garnered critical acclaim, including a Pulitzer Prize win as part of a team.
Brigid is also a fellow at the esteemed New America Foundation. When she’s not busy with work, she resides in Alexandria, Virginia with her spouse and two kids.
Despite growing up in Oregon, Brigid often spent her summers in Wyoming where she found peace and didn’t feel bogged down.
Editoral Review
Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time by Brigid Schulte offers a fresh and insightful look into the hectic nature of modern living. Schulte is a journalist, a writer, and a mother of two living in Washington, D.C. Through her reporting and personal experience, Schulte tackles the complex issues and challenges that arise when one is juggling the demands of work, family, and leisure time.
The book is a non-fiction work that falls into the category of self-help or lifestyle. Schulte’s tone is honest, relatable, and often humorous, making the book an enjoyable read.
Her writing style is engaging, and she uses anecdotes, research, and interviews to support her arguments. The themes of the book are universal and relevant to anyone struggling with balancing their personal and professional lives.
Schulte’s book is structured around several chapters that cover topics such as time, work, parenting, gender roles, leisure, and caregiving. In each chapter, Schulte explores the cultural and historical factors that have contributed to our current state of busyness, and offers actionable steps to reclaim our time and prioritize the things that matter most.
She also weaves in her own experiences and those of other people she has interviewed, providing a human touch to the book. One of the strengths of Overwhelmed is Schulte’s ability to connect the dots between seemingly disparate issues such as the gender pay gap, parental leave policies, and the pressure to be constantly productive.
She argues that these issues are interconnected and that we need to address them collectively if we want to create a society that values leisure, care, and human connection. Schulte’s call to action is both inspiring and practical, and readers are likely to come away with a renewed sense of purpose and agency.
However, the book is not without its flaws. At times, Schulte can come across as overly prescriptive, and she may not have all the answers to the complex issues she is trying to address.
Additionally, some readers may find the book to be too US-centric in its focus, and the solutions offered may not be applicable to all cultures and societies. Overall, Overwhelmed is a valuable and thought-provoking read that is well worth the time investment.
Schulte’s writing is engaging, and her research is thorough and compelling. The book offers a refreshing perspective on a topic that is all too familiar to most of us.
For anyone looking to gain greater insight into the challenges of modern living and looking to make positive changes in their life, Overwhelmed is a book to add to their reading list. Score: 4 out of 5 stars.
