Alissa Quart

“A vivid prose stylist, Quart makes powerfully real what happens when those who were once middle class can now only window shop for the American Dream. She also offers crucial collective plans to get us out of our anguishing binds.”

“It’s not often that you can call a densely reported work of literary non-fiction about economic inequality a riveting page-turner, but Squeezed is just that.”

“Reminiscent of Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed . . . will resonate with those feeling squeezed, and inform those who are not.”

“‘Squeezed’ paints a vivid portrait of struggling professionals...[it delivers] colour, and the stories of a falling down middle class reflect a felt experience of anxiety that is often lost in data-driven tales of recession and recovery....Quart is particularly sharp on behavioural psychology and the economics of class.”

“A thoughtful, enlightening and painful analysis of the ever-growing divide in the American economy.”

“The issue is overwhelmingly structural and social, not individual or moral. We haven’t failed; Capitalism has failed us. As Quart reminds her reader—and as every story in the book is meant to illustrate—the economic bind we find ourselves in cannot be solved by personal discipline or better financial decisions.”

“An eye-opening look at the forces that make it harder than ever for the middle class to survive.”

“In a nation beset by income inequality and riven by conflict, the conception of the quiet contentment of middle-class American life appears to be on the wane. . . . Alissa Quart . . . lucidly demonstrates that for many, the dream of such satisfaction is increasingly out of reach.”

“Squeezed captures the dazed uncertainty of a post-recession generation of would-be parents for whom stagnant wages and ever-rising housing costs make them can’t-be ones...Quart [has] a knack for immersive, in-depth reporting, as well as an often-bruised sense of unlikely optimism.”

“Lucidly recounts . . . wrenching stories of economic hardship, while meticulously deconstructing some of the prevailing myths about middle-class life in the United States . . . Squeezed stands out for its insightful analysis of class dynamics in the United States.”

“[Quart] shares familiar stories of economic frustration as well as hard evidence for the causes of it. It’s an often tough but deeply empathetic call to action, one that exists in the real world of family, work, debt and even dreams.”

“A disciplined journalist, Quart [frames] her facts and figures with unsettling personal stories of financial ruin... What stays with you is the precariousness and stress to which today’s capitalism subjects millions of even relatively privileged people.”

“Squeezed is at its absolute best when Quart combines her excellent reporting, rich with the perspective of that ‘Middle Precariat’, with a willingness to more openly and sharply decry the structural conditions that are giving way to such misery.”

“Combining vivid, lively reporting on the struggles of parents and keen analysis on the public sector’s shameful neglect of an almost universal need, this is the first examination of parenthood to be thoroughly rooted in America’s changing class contours. Elegantly written and deeply curious, Squeezed offers both brilliant insights and possible solutions.”

“If you’ve ever felt the pinch of financial anxiety—and chances are you have—read this book now. Alissa Quart will help you realize that you’re not alone and it’s not your fault. Squeezed is profound, a sweeping, blistering portrait of hard-working people from all walks of life. It’s a rousing wake up call that also points the way forward to a more equitable, expansive future.”

“Squeezed, like Nickel and Dimed . . . is worth reading if you’re invested in better understanding poverty in America.”

“A compassionate, thoughtful examination of the economic struggles faced today by America’s middle class.”

“In this highly thoughtful and compassionate account, [Quart] describes the forces that are making the traditional aspects of the “American Dream” out of reach for many Americans. . . . Well-written, wide-ranging, and vital to understanding American life today.”

“Quart is a sympathetic listener, getting people to reveal not just the tenuousness of their economic situations but also the turbulence of their emotional lives... We could all use her expert guidance through the maze.”

“[Quart’s] ambitious, top-tier reportage tells a powerful story of America today.”

“Squeezed captures well the toxic combination of American individualism and the disrupted evolution of particular professions that has left millions of millennials in a more fragile financial condition than they expected would be their lot in life.”

“Puts plain the economic predicament of the middle class in eloquent and heart-wrenching vividness.”

“On the day that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accomplished her remarkable victory in the Democratic primary . . . a new book arrived, as if by cosmic fiat, to help explain the emerging realignments of the political order: Squeezed.”

“A devastating report on middle-class American families struggling to stay afloat . . . Quart eloquently relates these families’ psychological and socioeconomic predicaments, and amplifies those personal stories with research confirming significant and growing income inequality.”

“Quart captures how middle-class American families are struggling to attain the standard of living once enjoyed by their parents. [She] argues that higher earners, like most Americans, contend with income disparity and the extreme wealth enveloping metro regions.”

“A powerful book. . . . The color of your collar, or your red or blue state, doesn’t matter. Quart reveals in this work that we’re in this together.”

“At once an ode to the underrepresented and a reporting tour de force.”

“[A] groundbreaking study of the increasing influence of cultural outsiders”

“[Quart’s] careful reporting and vividly rendered characters make the book a vital, engaging read.”

“With brief but telling glimpses of the many people she interviews, the author makes connections that wouldn’t otherwise be obvious . . . a liberating vision of interlocking subcultures.”

“Instructive for those who do creative work, and even for people who are trying to engage in any kind of meaningful self-definition: Don’t always accept other people’s categories. You can always make your own.”

“A skilled reporter, Quart travels the country to meet with music prodigies, math and science whiz kids, teenaged evangelical preachers, and young Scrabble champs, among others, to uncover the pressures they face... Fascinating to read, Hothouse Kids is wholly convincing that overscheduled children are not better off than those who are given time for free play and relaxation.”

“Quart presents a cogent argument that a baby can learn more playing in a sandbox with another child than sitting in front of a bright-baby video.”

“Eloquent and passionate . . . In deeply etched portraits of struggling professionals, Quart evokes how soaring costs and hostile social policy have trapped middle-class families in quicksands of debt and emotional stress.”

“Quart’s message, thoughtful, often eloquent and bracingly frank, injects common sense into the overwrought rhetoric of parenting.”

“First-rate literary journalism.”

“What Alissa Quart does so beautifully is weave together textured, compelling portraits of individual families with big ideas. Read this important book to understand the challenges your own family faces in parenting, housing, planning for the future—and read it to find out what to do about them!”

“For the readers still waiting for a substantive follow-up to Naomi Klein’s No Logo, this is the book....Quart is brilliant....[B]y the end, readers should be able to spot certain youth demographics and deconstruct their branded worlds instantaneously — and with empathy and anger.”

“Fascinating, highly readable cultural study.”

“Think of Alissa Quart’s new book . . . as “What to Expect When You’re Expecting Under Late Capitalism.” Of the more than 50,000 books listed on Amazon under ‘Parenting,’ few engage as deeply with the economic pressures today’s parents must navigate.”

“Deserves to command wide attention among millions of families…Ms. Quart makes a brilliant case for how and why teenagers’ consumption of luxury-brand items and paraphernalia associated with teenage idols has gone too far.”

“Quart makes it clear that being wary of advertising should be one of those childhood cautions, along with don’t talk to strangers, and that it is our job to instruct our children....[A] cogent wake-up call for both generations.”

“A fascinating and provocative study.”

“[A]n empowering work...”

“Quart’s style is smart and sassy...a frightening and important book.”