MY LATEST BOOKS
Exhausted: An A-Z for the Weary
Burnout is said to be the defining feeling of the post-pandemic world - but why are we all so exhausted? Some of us struggle with perfectionism, while others are simply overwhelmed by the demands of modern life. But whatever you're feeling, you are not alone - and this liberating, enlightening guide to exhaustion in all its forms will help you find the energy to beat burnout and weariness. From confronting our inner critics to how our desire to be productive stops us from being free, I bring together science, medicine, literature and philosophy to explore the causes and history of exhaustion and burnout, revealing new ways to combat stress and negativity. Inventive and freewheeling, full of comfort, solace and practical advice, Exhausted is an inspiring guide to getting control of your own exhaustion - and rediscovering happiness along the way.
The Art of Self-Improvement: Ten Timeless Truths
Self-help today is a multi-billion-dollar global industry, one often seen as a by-product of neoliberalism and capitalism. Far from being a recent phenomenon, however, the practice of self-improvement has a long and rich history, extending all the way back to ancient China. For millennia, philosophers, sages, and theologians have reflected on the good life and devised strategies on how to achieve it.
Exhaustion: A History
Today our fatigue feels chronic; our anxieties, amplified. Proliferating technologies command our attention. Many people complain of burnout, and economic instability and the threat of ecological catastrophe fill us with dread. We look to the past, imagining life to have once been simpler and slower, but extreme mental and physical stress is not a modern syndrome.
The Truth About Julia
A taut debut psychological novel which asks the question - can there be one single truth? How many versions of the truth can there be? In June 2014, Julia White - a beautiful and intelligent young woman - blows up a coffee shop in central London, killing twenty-four people before turning herself in to the police. Apart from publishing a potentially ironic manifesto, she refuses to explain the reasons for her actions.
WHAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SAID ABOUT MY BOOKS
Exhaustion is a "wide-ranging, discerning history’ and an ‘enlightening, elegantly written study of exhaustion as a phenomenon firmly rooted in the confluence of medical knowledge, cultural beliefs, and social critique. Reading the book offers a two-thousand-year tour through western medical paradigms as well as a trenchant analysis of how theories of exhaustion express both a historically specific social criticism and timeless concerns about ageing, waning energy, and the spectre of death. Exhaustion is a compelling and though-provoking read for doctors, historians, and medical humanists."
— Susan K. Cahn, Journal of the History of Medicine
“This book is informative, comprehensive, and entertaining; while including history and research, Schaffner adds terrific interpretations of Disney and Nietzsche! It’s a necessary book for our Zeitgeist, adding ‘why’ and ‘how’ to Rilke’s poetic line: ‘You must change your life.’”
— Scott Haas, author of Why Be Happy?: The Japanese Way of Acceptance
Exhaustion is "a fascinating study of the ways in which doctors and philosophers have understood the limits of the human mind, body – and energy."
— David Robson, BBC Futures
"This psychological novel is not only a quest to uncover the truth, but also touches on the issue of radicalisation in society."
— Closer
"Masterly... What Schaffner shows so cleverly in this gripping, timely novel, is that there may be no one single truth; there may be many little truths, or possibly none at all and what there is is always open to interpretation."
— The i-paper