A unique, heartfelt, and at times beautiful book, that maybe overstates its case.The opening chapters of this book struck me very directly at this point in my life; Jonny writes about a combination of loneliness, desire, and alienation that is both vulnerable and relatable. You can sense the catharsis that he must've felt writing it in every page, and it's a great companion book for anyone going through a similar experience. The wall between narrator and author feels very thin in these pages.As

Beautiful meditations on family, belonging, anxiety, burnout, and most delightfully, house plants. Highly recommended.

“When my plants grow, it feels like they are teaching me to experience my own happiness in slow motion, not over the course of a few seconds, a few moments, but over the course of weeks, months. And when my plants die, when they start to dry out, or wilt, or rot at the root, they die slowly, too. Even in sadness, I have come to appreciate that there is something peaceful about how slowly that panic and hopelessness and frustration and guilt unfurls, every morning and every night, over and ove

"Feeling lonely is for people who have arrived somewhere, I tell myself, not for people still on the way there."

Series of chaotic thoughts thrown together in a book.

uh, am i allowed to say that i like this book

One of the most thoughtful, calm & relatable books I’ve ever read. It’s one of those books that lifts up the veil on our current insecure “if we’re not productive, we’re lazy” self-punishing, always-on, always-hustling realities and shifts the focus back to the truth of the matter which is that: You’re only human. We’re not perfect and that’s okay. We need to spend more time and care more about that which we love, whether it be our plants, our friends or our families.This is a wonder of a book.

Sun’s writing is powerful and touching, and I really enjoyed the mixture of brief essays and illustrations in this collection. I was hoping for a bit more range in the content, though. To me, the pieces became repetitive over time, with the majority focusing on different aspects of his near-obsessive focus on productivity. Sun is insightful in dissecting his anxiety and depression, as well as how these issues fuel his need to always be generating something productive; however, I would have prefe...

I like some essays more than others but that’s expected. But the best ones are like soft explosions that pierce your heart. Flowers blooming in time lapse. Small satisfied wiggles.

Screw good or bad.For me, personally, this is an all-timer and one of the most meaningful reading experiences I've had in years. There are like 50 sentences that say things about me that I've never been able to articulate, even to myself.I'm shook.Will be revisiting many times over the years, and I have TONS of new writing prompts and projects for class from Jonny's craft.

*Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for this book in exchange for an honest review.Jonny Sun is a delight and this book is delightful. Through what I can only describe as musings, Sun describes the world in his careful and descriptive way– filtering from quick snippets of interactions with friends and advice from loved ones to stories of his family through recipes and restaurants to taking care of various plants throughout his life and the lessons those plants have taught him. In addition, and

Favorite pieces:-On peace-Is it living or is it alive?"I am trying to catch myself more whenever I think about work as something that's alive. When work is 'pressuring' someone, or 'growing,' or 'needs attention,' what does that mean? I am all for giving life to inanimate objects, but to anthropomorphize work feels different, more dangerous to me. I think that maybe I imbue or I have learned to imbue work with this idea of life because I need to work to survive. And if I have to work instead of

This book’s only flaw is that it had to end!!! I loved every second of reading this book and it made me Feel Things and it was so beautiful and special and I’ve never read a book like this before and it was perfect. I usually fold the bottom corner of pages that are my favorite when I read and for this book I think I probably bookmarked like, a third of the pages, seriously this was so special.

While reading this book, I felt like Jonny Sun was speaking both directly to and from my soul, and with every page I thought, "Wow, he gets it." Yes, while many of these essays are short, they are so deeply impactful. In Goodbye, Again, Sun touches on his experiences with anxiety, depression, and surviving with the mindset that productivity equals value in a world where taking a break from the grind feels like failure. This is the book for the people that want to matter, make a difference and le...

This book is a collection of Jonny Sun’s reflections and memory flashbacks of his life. The author is an artist and writer. He strikes me as a Highly Sensitive Person (see HSP), and a combination of a high achiever and a sufferer of severe social anxiety. For those who never know what severe social anxiety feels like probably would find some of his ruminations hard to relate or even understand. Majority of the pieces are very short, 2 to 5 minutes. The longest one, How to Cook Scrambled Eggs (18...

go to therapy

Blog post-like essays on friendship, plants, life. A couple of relatable ones, but mostly felt like I was visiting the foreign land of people younger than me who really like to name and talk about their anxieties.

This is a book of musings on work, creativity, angst, self-doubt, family, plants, and more interspersed with drawings. Drawings are “a portrait in first-person, through what they’ve noticed and how they see.” “To draw is to visually manifest one’s attention and care.” Jonny is a workaholic. He worries too much and looks at the glass half empty. The self-imposed pressure to produce is relentless. He focuses on the negative, guilt, and disappointment and believes he is not good enough. He believes...

It feels rude to rate this any less than five stars. A collection of honest essays on living through the pandemic, toxic work culture, and being able to navigate a world that constantly pressures us to be something “more.”Really appreciated the essay that ranks and goes through the hypothetical last 15 minutes of your life before the end of the world.I will also attempt to cook many forms of eggs thanks to Jonny’s detailed instructions. Last but not least, I am here for all of the plant content!...

There were so many thought-provoking moments in this short book. It was highly enjoyable and also very comforting in a way, because the tone overall is positive and hopeful even when Sun is speaking about some rather grim subjects. The book covers many different topics that are personal to the author, from struggles with mental health to loneliness to houseplants, and so much more. I listened to the audiobook version and highly recommend it, though I am curious about the illustrations I missed o...