Do I Feel Better Yet?: Questionable Attempts at Self-Care and Existing in General (Paperback)
If you've ever dared to express dissatisfaction with the state of your life, you've inevitably received a variety of helpful suggestions: "Have you tried meditation? Exercise? A cult? An exercise cult?" In Do I Feel Better Yet?, Madeleine Trebenski explores more than 45 so-called solutions suggested to her in the name of self-care. In a playful and at times sardonic chronicle of the elusive promises of multistep skin-care routines, gratitude journaling, scented candles, and more, Trebenski perfectly captures what it's like to live in a time when homemade kombucha and weighted blankets are said to single-handedly solve all our problems. These essays will make you laugh, make you feel less alone, and maybe make you feel better—even if just for a little while.
Madeleine Trebenski has written for McSweeney's, the New Yorker, Outside Magazine, and more. Her piece "The Girl from Avril Lavigne's 'Sk8er Boi' Responds 18 Years Later" has gone viral twice and her work has been featured on Elizabeth Banks's "My Body, My Podcast."
"I've tried essentially every behavior Madeleine Trebenski satirizes, and none made me feel as good as laughing out loud at this book." -Ginny Hogan, author of I'm More Dateable than a Plate of Refried Beans and Toxic Femininity in the Workplace
“Do I feel better yet? After reading this clever and refreshing look at the often maddening world of self-help, I do.” -Giulia Rozzi, host of Should I Get Bangs?
“Unlike most forms of self-care, Madeleine Trebenski’s Do I Feel Better Yet? will in fact make you feel better, by making you laugh out loud, reminding you that you are not alone, and, as long as you don't read it in direct sunlight, improving your skin. This charming, reassuring, deeply felt book is as effective as an SSRI—a delightful read.” —Jennifer Traig, author of Act Natural and Devil in the Details
“Do I feel better yet? After reading this clever and refreshing look at the often maddening world of self-help, I do.” -Giulia Rozzi, host of Should I Get Bangs?
“Unlike most forms of self-care, Madeleine Trebenski’s Do I Feel Better Yet? will in fact make you feel better, by making you laugh out loud, reminding you that you are not alone, and, as long as you don't read it in direct sunlight, improving your skin. This charming, reassuring, deeply felt book is as effective as an SSRI—a delightful read.” —Jennifer Traig, author of Act Natural and Devil in the Details