From Bitter is the New Black to the Unites States of Anxiety, Lancaster never disappoints!!! If you want to be alone, but feel like your sitting down and chatting with your snarky best friend - this book is for you! A 24 hour read that had
me laughing in resonated agreement! Lancaster is best writing about what she knows, real life in all its hilarity! Thank you for the advance copy of this book! Will be recommending to friends!!!

I feel like this book was a series of rants with footnotes and citations. It felt very disjointed and all over the place. There's a lot of privilege here, but admittedly, Lancaster does recognize this. Overall, I didn't hate this book.

I've been a longtime fan of Jen Lancaster's memoirs and race to get a copy of her latest as soon as I can. Very few authors make me laugh out loud, but I went into reading this with trepidation. Many reviews complained that she's become too "woke" and didn't like that she cited studies for the subjects she covers. I'm scratching my head, wondering if I read the same book as other readers.

For her latest memoir, Jen discusses Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and talks about how it fits into our modern lives while incorporating her own stories from her present life, which include her 1970s childhood in New Jersey (right there with you, Jen) to her forays into comedy by taking classes at Second City. She examines our unhealthy obsession with social media and our consumption culture. Each topic she covers includes her customary footnotes, but these aren't just snarky comments but references to real articles, blogs, studies, etc. I totally appreciated those although it's hard to go to them in an e-book.

As for Jen being more "woke", I don't totally see it. She's definitely less snarky but still muses over the lunacy of others and points the finger at herself when appropriate. And yet, she's more open to understanding what's not acceptable to say, but she defends comedians over the limits placed on them and other forms of art.

She also wants to learn about other people and their backgrounds. To me, she's more thoughtful, not brainwashed. I would say she comes at topics by exploring both sides for herself and the reader. She's not expecting the reader to agree but consider what she's trying to say.

The main problem with this book, and this is not Jen's fault, is that the pandemic happened. Things are so unstable for so many reasons--it may alter some of the items she wrote about because the world is crazy in general. She almost could write a follow-up to this book or a quasi sequel about how the chart affected us during this time.

As usual, I would be right on board with Jen. Even when I disagree with her, I like to hear what she thinks like I do with a good friend, and she seems more honest and dare-I-say-it more earnest. She even discusses why she's estranged from her mom and dad, and I don't doubt or disagree with her reason for doing so.

Some of her previous fans may not enjoy this book as much as the others, but I surprisingly did, and I'm glad.

I was very excited to read this, the title really struck me. I am not familiar with Jen Lancaster, but this book was a lot of enjoyment. It fell flat at some points. Other than that, it is a very timely read.

I liked this book, it feels so relevant to what is going on in today's society. We live in a world where everything we do needs instant gratification. We need those likes and those facebook comments. People spend more than what they earn because they are too scared of missing out.

I received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

This is not the Jen Lancaster you might be expecting. It's a more serious (although still funny) Lancaster who is addressing a very serious subject and using- wait for it- data and facts. 2020 has been a rough year for almost everyone (I'm sure someone would disagree that it's been hard on the soul) so this is a timely look at anxiety and how we make it worse for ourselves. Social media is the demon here - and that's fair. It's a good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Put the phone down and breath;.

I'm sorry, but I could not download this book. I kept getting the message "the JSON is not representing a valid license agreement".

I am a super anxious person and felt like this book was literally all my thoughts. It was funny and horrific all at the same time. So well written and educational. Highly recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I'm not sure what this author is trying to do. This is a sociology (?) book written by a comedian. Maybe. It thought it was funnier than it really was and it thought it was smarter than it really was. It's not good when the best things about it were that I liked how it was organized and I liked the research that was sited. I liked the cover. I wish sociology textbooks could be funnier (so they'd be more interesting) but I don't think this is what the author was even trying to do. Maybe it's a comedy book with science injected into it? It's kind of a mess. Also, I don't need to read about things that stress someone out; my list is long enough on it's own. Some humorous stories and some interesting thoughts, but not really worth the time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Jen Lancaster’s humor is spot on for me (a Gen X’er). But, the timing of this book (written before the pandemic) made the humorous essays miss their mark. Her anxiety about health without updating with the real fear of pandemic or ranting about fashion or other former daily anxieties just feel Uber trivial now.

Absolutely awful. I love Jen Lancaster but this book was impossible to read. I can’t find anything positive to say about it-save your money

Another home run by Mrs. Lancaster. I have loved all her books but this one was perfect. A great balance between humor and facts. It really brings some truths to light of why this country is like it is.

With just one look at the title, I knew I simply had to read this book. My hunch was totally right - Jen Lancaster's book is a funny book about the problem of anxiety in the United States. Paradox? Very much so, and that's the beauty of it.

In a nutshell, Welcome to the United States of Anxiety is a humorous nonfictional analysis of the epidemic of anxiety in the States. It's a collection of essays examining issues from the obesity epidemic, through global warming, politics, parenting and social life to the infamous FOMO. Jen's selection of topics is on point - although it is clear she wrote this book before the global pandemic, which would have completely changed what's on this list. However, with what's missing in that regard, she makes up for with humor and spot-on anecdotes from her life and observations.

However, I was expecting some kind of suggestions or solutions to the problem. If I'm reading a book about the author's experience with anxiety, the least one would hope for is some solid advice on what to do. It was not at all a self-help book which is what I expected, at least to be partially in this genre. So overall, this was my biggest issue with this otherwise funny and creative essay collection.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review,

I love everything Jen Lancaster writes, but this book just might be my new favorite. As a proud member of Jen X, oops, I mean Gen X, I identified with everything Jen talked about. Jen used her trademark humor and wit to tackle a tough subject that affects many women our age.