A Year of Nothing, by Emma Gannon
I loved this book. I bought it just as my last job ended and I needed a pause from everyday life, and it was perfect.
A Year of Nothing is the account of Emma Gannon’s year-long recovery from burnout, and it feels very relatable. Not that I have had a severe burnout (thankfully), but if you’ve ever been in a place where stress or depression has caused you not to recognise yourself (because you know, modern life), you’ll be able to relate.
Although it’s a serious topic, the book is warm and cosy and the tone feels like you’re chatting with a good friend. It’s part memoir and part advice over twelve short chapters, two or three pages max, one for each month of the year.
The format felt like an invitation to pause, and I enjoyed reading a chapter each morning with breakfast over a couple of weeks. The advice bits were good, but I loved the memoir parts the most – after all, we usually learn more about our lives when reading about someone else’s.
Each chapter focuses on a specific event or encounter that happened that month. In fact, at no point was the author doing “nothing”. What happened was, while she was physically unable to get on with normal life, work or socialising, she was forced to slow down and focus on self-care activities.
Her projects for each month range from the purely restorative to the leisurely creative, with a slow progression towards more self-compassion and positive energy as the year goes on.
Adventures include (but not limited to):
• Lying in bed
• Watching favourite Christmas films
• Dog-sitting
• A solo trip to Lisbon
• Walking around graveyards
• Reflexology
• Birdwatching
• Wearing colourful clothes
• Pond swimming
• Time with relatives
• Getaway with friends
• A women’s retreat
• Giving up alcohol
• Journaling
As the author recounts these, she is extremely honest about her state of mind and doesn’t shy away from vulnerable or embarrassing topics, whether talking about her depression or her curiosity to try new things.
Of course it’s not meant to be “a year of fun”, but the book still gives a peek behind the scenes into a successful author’s life, which sounds if not perfect, at least expansive, free and creative.
Apparently, burnout hit just after the author published another book called The Success Myth: Letting Go of Having it All. I was curious so I bought this too, and although it’s a good book, it is more of a social commentary.
Where The Success Myth tells you that society needs to rethink its obsession with productivity, A Year of Nothing shows you what it’s like to be so drained you wear the same old fleece every day for several months, until someone literally burns it down.
As a memoir it’s full of hope, a quiet reflexion of what makes a happy sustainable life – it’s a nourishing book to read.
