A life insurance salesman has been detailing the current state of the economy ever since a podcast explained it to him. He didn't think to ask the woman across the table what she does for a living. She works at the Kansas City Fed.
An executive assistant can read her boss's silence from the far end of the office. His coffee order is open on her phone before he asks. Her crisis is waiting for an opening on the calendar.
Nobody in this book is going anywhere. Any one of them can tell you exactly how to get there.
Arriving Nowhere is a complete guide to staying exactly where you are. Twenty chapters. Twenty American cities. A narrator so warm and so reasonable you will not notice what he is doing until it is done. There are five territories to hold, and he will teach you all of them.
A Mind Worth Wasting. A mind is the finest instrument you will ever own. Dottie plays hers constantly. Every grievance filed, dated, and still appreciating. A virtuoso at the art of grudge collecting.
A Body Worth Overruling. The body has opinions about everything and never stops sharing them. Frankie's knee has been filing the same complaint for months. She reads it, uh-huhs it, and moves on.
Relationships Worth Ruining. Anyone can walk away from a friendship. Gael has perfected the slow withdrawal, so carefully conducted that no single moment can ever be pointed to.
A Future Worth Sabotaging. The past and present won't budge an inch. The future is open, adjustable, and never makes a peep when you sabotage it. Sam knows the better option is coming. That's why the shortlist never gets shorter.
A Soul Worth Starving. Mei-Lin works air traffic control, where silence on the frequency means something has gone wrong. Nine years in, she has not let a room go quiet either. The quiet is where you would have to notice what you want and what you owe yourself.
Not one of these people is a disaster. They are accomplished, well-liked, and better at this than anyone has ever given them credit for.
Nothing in this book asks you to change. Whether you do is entirely up to you.
