Wellness
This is the story of Jack and Elizabeth’s marriage, but it’s not just about their marriage. It’s about how their relationship and their identities shift as they move through life in a manipulative world. Alongside Jack and Elizabeth’s story, author Nathan Hill examines every aspect of this manipulation–in depth. From Elizabeth’s work as a scientist studying placebos (and then selling them), to the online algorithms that create and then reinforce beliefs, to art, to parenting, to health and the ways we try to hack our “wellness,” Hill leaves no stone unturned. He often veers into tangents in this 600+ page tome (19-hour audiobook).
The book could have been shorter, but I was never bored. The cultural examinations kept me engaged, and just as they began to wear thin, he shifted back to his characters and how the things he examined affected them. This meandering book will not be for everyone, but readers up for literary experiments may want to give it a try (I’ve seen many say that audiobook is the way to go–and I agree).
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Publisher’s Description
When Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in the ’90s, the two quickly join forces and hold on tight, each eager to claim a place in Chicago’s thriving underground art scene with an appreciative kindred spirit. Fast-forward twenty years to married life, and alongside the challenges of parenting, they encounter cults disguised as mindfulness support groups, polyamorous would-be suitors, Facebook wars, and something called Love Potion Number Nine.
For the first time, Jack and Elizabeth struggle to recognize each other, and the no-longer-youthful dreamers are forced to face their demons, from unfulfilled career ambitions to painful childhood memories of their own dysfunctional families. In the process, Jack and Elizabeth must undertake separate, personal excavations, or risk losing the best thing in their lives: each other.