Overwhelmed – Brigid Schulte

I loved this book! For so many reasons. Brigid Schulte is a reporter for the Washington Post. She lives here in the DC area and many of the experts she consulted are local to where I live. I know her commute and her community, which gives this an authenticity that may not resonate with every reader but it’s real.

What will resonate with all readers is the concepts she speaks of: “Living in the Overwhelm,” “Time Confetti,” “Frenetic Families,” “The cult of intensive motherhood,” “Extreme Facetime workplaces,” “Ideal Worker Workplaces.” Naming these things we *feel* crystalizes them into concepts we can talk about. And talk about them we must!

There are so many quotes from this book, so many passages that deserve their own callout boxes, that I could spend hours doing just that. But I won’t because I want people to read this book.

“Know that humans have evolved to conform and fit in with the group. And know that right now the group isn’t clear on what it wants you to do. Embrace whatever it is you’re doing, whatever you’ve chosen, with passion and see where it leads then adapt as you go.” In the end, we’re not only torn by external demands and expectations but our own ambivalence about what we want from our love relationships, our family life, our careers and our inner life.

Everyone would benefit from reading this book because we all need to change our thinking in whatever role it is we are playing – and we all play many roles every day. We are creating the future path for our children and the generation that comes behind us. We should feel that burden and strive to leave a better legacy.