In ‘A Year of Nothing’, Emma Gannon talks about her experience with severe burnout. How it felt, how she let herself get to that point and how, through slow progress, she came out the other side.
She shares in detail how she became obsessed with working and constantly saying yes to opportunities when perhaps she needed to say no.
I found a lot of things that she talked about very relatable. Even though our stories are very different, I found some messages in this book that were little reminders, and they certainly gave me a lot to think about.
While Emma often writes about not needing to fit into stereotypical moulds to be successful, I feel that there is definitely a message in this book that we all need to take better care of ourselves. Because even though she often encourages others to take care of themselves, she wasn’t doing the same for herself.
She was like many of us; she just kept going because stopping is not an option. We all have this need to constantly be ticking something off our to-do lists, hurrying to complete goals and achievements. And then it’s on to the next thing without taking any pauses in between, which really should be essential, as it can help us appreciate all of life’s little moments and take time to celebrate our accomplishments.
This book is short, but it has a powerful message. Take time to live your life, notice the small moments, and spend time with your loved ones. It’s okay to slow down. You don’t have to do it all.
This is definitely a trap that I fall into when I get motivated to do things like writing and creating content, so I am trying hard to allow myself breathing room and to pace myself, remembering that I can’t do everything all at once. But if I take my time, I can do some of the things I want to do. It’s all about balance and allowing time for self-care.
Things to know before purchasing this book
I want to note that this book does talk about mental health struggles, and while I feel like there isn’t anything too full-on in here, I just wanted to include a warning in case this is a problem for anyone.
Other things to know might want to know:
This book is independently published. Even though Emma Gannon is usually a traditionally published author, she has chosen to publish this book independently in partnership with an indie publisher.
It was originally published in partnership with the Pound Project in 2024, but this latest edition (released in January 2026) is a revised version of the original book and is published in partnership with Whitefox Publishing.
Would I recommend this book?
Yes, I would recommend this book. I feel like there are lessons from this book that we can all take away, but I would recommend getting it in the ebook format. While I purchased and read this in a physical format, if I knew that it was going to be relatively short then I would have purchased it as an ebook mainly because of the cost, but at the time of ordering I was unaware that it was going to be available in a digital format, so I ordered the paperback version of this book through a local bookstore.
📖 Other Books by this Author that I would recommend reading 📖
This book shares the myths of success and how we should define our own ideas of success. Emma walks us through topics like how to set goals in a way that lets us be ambitious but without making them feel overwhelming, how to break the cycle of comparing ourselves to others, and the endless need for more.
Like ‘The Success Myth’, both these books were written during Britain’s lockdowns, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This one discusses our connection with the internet. How the promises of the internet and our connection to it don’t live up to our expectations. How algorithms manipulate us, how companies use our data. Disconnected discusses this and shares helpful tips and advice for those feeling a little overwhelmed by the internet and wanting to take back control.
I hope you enjoyed reading this short book review.
When I started reading this book, I had no intention of reviewing it because it had been so long since I had done any book reviews, but I am a big fan of Emma Gannon. I have read a couple of her other books (the ones featured above), and really enjoyed them (I would love to re-read them sometime soon).
Anyway, I decided to review this book because it felt right, it fits with the self-care direction I want to take my content, and I felt that it has a message that we could all learn from.
If you are interested in reading any of Emma’s books, including ‘A Year of Nothing’, you can check them out on her website.
Until next time, I hope you have a lovely day.
Erin.
Credits – Book Covers
I do not own the rights to the book covers featured in this post. The copyright for these is owned by the original copyright holders.
The Success Myth – sourced from Penguin Random House Australia
Disconnected – sourced from simonandschuster.com
Disclaimer – This post is not sponsored and doesn’t contain any affiliate links; any links included are for reference only in case you are interested in checking out a mentioned link or purchasing a reviewed product. Check out my full Disclaimers here, including AI use on my blog.
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