“One thing I don't know if the book makes clear, and that I think is important to make clear, is that I love work, and I also don't think ambition is bad. I think ambition is a force. I just think it's so often misdirected." -Jennifer Romolini in conversation with Sally Haldorson
This interview was livestreamed on June 4, 2024. Jennifer Romolini was in conversation with Porchlight's Managing Director, Sally Haldorson.
Watch our full conversation with Jennifer Romolini, and comment below with what resonates with you.
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BUY THE BOOK
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ABOUT THE BOOK
A deeply personal memoir about workaholism, the addictive nature of ambition, and the humbling process of picking yourself up when the world lets you down-an anti-girlboss tale for our times for readers of Drinking: A Love Story and Uncanny Valley.
After years of relentlessly racing up the professional ladder, Jennifer Romolini reached the kind of success many crave: a high-profile, C-suite dream job, a book well-received enough that reporters wanted to know the secrets to her success, and a gig traveling around the country giving speeches on “making it.” She had a handsome and clever husband, a precocious child. But beneath this polished surface was a powder keg of unresolved trauma and chronic overwork. It was all about to blow.
Written with self-deprecation and wit, Ambition Monster is a gutsy and powerful look at workaholism and the addictive nature of achievement, the lingering effect of childhood trauma, and the failures of our modern rat race. This is a Cinderella story of success and a brutal appraisal of the cost of capitalism-perfect for people pleasers, overachievers, and those whose traumas have driven them to strike for “goodness,” no matter the cost. With its timely and resonant deconstructing of the American Dream, Ambition Monster is a singular excavation of selfhood, an essential interrogation about the way we work, and an inspiring and affirming call to always bet on yourself.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer Romolini is the author of Weird in a World That’s Not, Ambition Monster, and is the host of the podcast Everything is Fine. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Elle, Fast Company, Vogue, and many others.
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ADDITIONAL LINKS
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This interview was produced by Porchlight Book Company with support from Boswell Books and Atria Books.