Review of Burnout Diaries

[Sarah Schmidt]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Burnout Diaries" by Janna Donovan.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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In her book, Burnout Diaries: How Work Stress Almost Killed Me, Janna Donovan chronicles a period of her life, from 2005 to 2006, where she experienced a psychological fallout because of her demanding work life.

Communicated by way of emails, blog posts, journal entries, and online chats, snapshots into Janna’s life are given an almost real-time effect. A new position in Penang, Malaysia, at Nocura Asia, promises to open new doors for her. She, her husband Dave, and their son Sean pack up and move from Houston, Texas, after careful consideration and analysis of the pros and cons of her new job. All goes well in the first few days, until the pressure and stress of a taxing work environment with a wholly unfamiliar location and culture start to take their toll. Janna soon finds herself on the brink of mental exhaustion, aiming for an impossible perfection and feeling that she would never measure up. No matter the healing methods she undertakes or the reassurances she receives from those around her, Janna still feels like a failure, contemplating suicide and neglecting her overall health. Her family, oceans away, becomes increasingly concerned for her. She must decide whether to quit a toxic work environment, despite her feelings of disappointing those around her, or to push herself further in this unrewarding cycle. Janna imparts advice by going into how she was able to fight through this phase in her life.

Janna discloses, at the start, her initial qualms about revealing her private struggle to the public, wanting to spare readers the gritty, dark details. I loved that she included all the negative pieces. There are, however, some warnings that need to be issued as a result. Janna is placed under heavy psychological burdens, and warranting a highlight is suicide ideation, which might prove triggering to some readers. Janna’s belief in God and her Christian faith are instrumental components of the telling of her story, though I do not believe that this content is offensive in its delivery or will affect anyone’s enjoyment of the book.

The high number of mistakes in the writing of this book led me to believe that it has not been professionally edited. This was my only sore point of the book, and possibly one of the very few negatives.

My favourite line from this book is the very first: “Today I was dropped gently onto the cool, white tiles of reality.” The narration of Janna’s experiences made me feel like I was witnessing someone give a very forced, pained smile. Empathy was the order of the day, and I hurt for her so much because I understood where she was coming from. Witnessing her try to keep herself afloat with pithy motivational quotes and burn out from excessive stress felt like looking in a very clear, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree mirror.

This book has greater significance than being someone’s account of a painful experience that they managed to, somehow, overcome. Janna personalizes the difference between an anxiety attack and a panic attack, balanced by her examination of her character relatively objectively. How she articulated her emotions while suffering from Imposter Syndrome was of note, especially because it plays a large role in her mentality at the time. The difficulties with ex-pat living—getting used to an entirely different way of living, culture shock, and her desire to be accepted so as not to be excluded from the discussion—also had a hand in her downward spiral.

Near the closing of the book, Janna pinpoints the strategies she employed to get herself out of the mire of that period of her life. There is an exploration of the lies she told herself, the bad habits she developed, and the changes she effected to do away with all that. She dishes out advice and tips, naming readers ‘work heroes’. I would have liked if these were given more book space, though, as it seems they occupy only a handful of pages. Perhaps this brevity serves a no-nonsense, take-action sort of push, but the transition between her being in the depths of the very worst time of her life to her doling out advice on betterment was rather abrupt, not showing readers her actually implementing these steps.

My rating for Burnout Diaries is three out of four stars. This is because, positively, this book explored a common issue in today’s working world in a relatable, realistic light. Negatively, however, the errors proved detrimental to the overall finish of the book. Burnout Diaries is a good fit for those who want to relate to someone and would like concrete, if not thorough, advice on how to prevail against work stress.

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Burnout Diaries
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[Korie Ifeoma Chisomaga]

Work-related stress affects us in unimaginable ways. And Janna shows us how to combat its effects. Thank you for such a wonderful review.

[QualityAndQuantity]

Hanna's struggles seem somewhat relatable to me and I think many people will do good by learning about them. Great review.

[Lisa A Rayburn]

It took a significant amount of courage to share such private details of her life with others. I can understand her hesitation. But giving this account of what she experienced and how she made it through may well help others who are going through similar circumstances. Kudos to the author, and thanks for the review!

[Aisha Yakub]

We all could learn from the author's story. We really should take a break when we feel like it. Thank you for the review.