Tired as F*ck: Burnout at the Hands of Diet, Self-Help, and Hustle Culture

“I laugh-cried all the way though this biting critique of self-help bullshit and manipulative power structures. Dooner has written something deeply of the moment and relatable as f*ck.”—Amanda Montell, author of Cultish and The New York Times bestseller The Age of Magical Overthinking

Blending memoir and blistering social observations, the author of The F*ck It Diet reflects on her desperate attempts to cure her hunger, anxiety, and imperfections through extreme diets, culty self-help methods, and melodramatic bargains with the universe.

Offering a frank, funny critique of the cultural forces that drive us mad, Caroline Dooner examines how treating ourselves like never-ending self-improvement projects can be a recipe for burnout. We have become unknowingly complicit in our own exhaustion because we keep treating ourselves like machines.

But even phones need to f*cking recharge. Caroline takes a good hard look at the dark side of self-help and explains how she eventually used a radical period of rest to push back against cultural expectations and to reclaim some peace.

Tired as F*ck empowers us to say no to the things that drain us. It inspires us to carve out time to slow down, feel okay about doing less, and honor our humanity.

This is not a self-help book; it’s a cautionary tale. It’s an honest appraisal of the dogma of wellness and spiritual self-improvement culture, reveling in the healing power of rest and letting shit go.