Alissa and Kimberly will be discussing Alissa’s new book, Bootstrapped Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream.

Bootstrapped is an unsparing, incisive, yet ultimately hopeful look at how we can shed the American obsession with self-reliance that has made us less healthy, less secure, and less fulfilled

The promise that you can “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” is central to the story of the American Dream. It’s the belief that if you work hard and rely on your own resources, you will eventually succeed. However, time and again we have seen how this foundational myth, with its emphasis on individual determination, brittle self-sufficiency, and personal accomplishment, does not help us. Instead, as income inequality rises around us, we are left with shame and self-blame for our condition.

Acclaimed journalist Alissa Quart argues that at the heart of our suffering is a do-it-yourself ethos, the misplaced belief in our own independence and the conviction that we must rely on ourselves alone. Looking at a range of delusions and half solutions—from “grit” to the false Horatio Alger story to the rise of GoFundMe—Quart reveals how we have been steered away from robust social programs that would address the root causes of our problems. Meanwhile, the responsibility for survival has been shifted onto the backs of ordinary people, burdening generations with debt instead of providing the social safety net we so desperately need.

Insightful, sharply argued, and characterized by Quart’s lively writing and deep reporting, and for fans of Evicted and Nickel and Dimed, Bootstrapped is a powerful examination of what ails us at a societal level and a plan for how we can free ourselves from these self-defeating narratives.

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ALISSA QUART
is the author of five acclaimed books of nonfiction, Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream (Ecco/HarperCollins, 2023), Squeezed, Republic of Outsiders, Hothouse Kids, and Branded. She is the Executive Director of the non-profit the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. She is also the author of two books of poetry Thoughts and Prayers and Monetized. She has written for many publications including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and TIME. Her honors include an Emmy, an SPJ award and a Nieman fellowship. She lives with her family in Brooklyn.

KIMBERLY CUTTER
is a journalist, novelist, and creator and host of The Control Variable: American Propaganda, an investigative podcast series that takes an unprecedented look into the history and science of propaganda to better understand the events of January 6, 2021. She is the former Executive Editor for Harper’s Bazaar and the former West Coast Editor for W Magazine. Cutter has written for many publications including The Wall Street Journal, Elle, Vanity Fair, New York, AD, Marie Claire and Vogue.com. She lives in the Hudson Valley.MORE