For readers of Rufi Thorpe and Taffy Brodesser-Akner, the story of an ad exec who bombs the biggest pitch of his career and decides to forgo capitalism and live off the land of his suburban Connecticut home--a timely and comedic take on ambition, consumerism, and the sticker price of happiness from an author known for her stealth, comedic satires of the industrial happiness complex.
Alan Anderson is a powerful advertising executive who has built a successful life and thriving business by making people buy stuff they don't actually need. He's up for the biggest pitch of his career and the account everyone wants, US Dairy: cow's milk sales are plummeting, and the C-Suite wants to see trendy oat milk kicked to the curb. But when an anarchist farmer tanks Alan's presentation, Alan bombs the pitch but ends the day with an epiphany. No longer will he exploit the insecurities of others in the service of capitalism. Alan is opting out.
This development is anathema to his wife, Vivian. She's just a few positive affirmations, a swimming pool, and an exacting series of social tests away from finally becoming part of the elite women's club, the Queen Annes, in their adopted town of Greenwich, Connecticut. As if contending with a daughter who wants to write plays (!) and another who has an unnatural empathy with animals isn't enough to manage, she can only watch as Alan moves into their backyard playhouse to live off the land and-worse-spend time with the family. But instead of shocking the neighbors, Alan's commitment to a less-is-more lifestyle seems to be catching on. Could everyone want what Alan's not selling?
Funny, sexy, intelligent, and poignant, Alan Opts Out is the most ambitious novel to date by celebrated author Courtney Maum, acclaimed for her stories that tackle big, chewy subjects of our post-modern America with wit and heart. Courtney Maum is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking publishing guide that Vanity Fair recently named one of the ten best books for writers, Before and After the Book Deal, and the memoir The Year of The Horses, chosen by the Today Show as the best read for mental health awareness. A writing coach, director of the writing workshop "Turning Points," and educator, Maum's mission is to help people hold on to the joy of artmaking in a culture obsessed with turning artists into brands. Widely published in such outlets as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and Interview Magazine, she sits on the advisory councils of The Authors Guild and The Rumpus. Courtney is the founder of the collaborative retreat program, The Cabins, she has a creativity advice newsletter "Get Published, Stay Published" that you can sign up for at CourtneyMaum.com, and she works as a publishing consultant from her home in Connecticut.
