Overcoming Addiction to the Status Quo is a self-help book by Kathryn Burmeister. She talks about the addiction itself, her journey to rock bottom and back up, and her tips to those who suffer from the same addiction.
In the first two chapters, Kathryn goes in-depth on the addiction to the Status Quo and relates it to her professional field and other zero-sum professions. In chapters 3 to 6, the author recounts her journey that led to rock bottom and how she got back up. The seventh chapter was aptly named “Catalysts”. It was my favorite chapter because it was a significant part of the book discussing addiction to the status quo in a less-generalized way.
Towards the end, she focuses on how to overcome this addiction. She had a good list of tips, including direct actions and things to think about. Yes, reading about her struggle is required to understand the necessity of those points. If you look closely, you can find more advice in the earlier chapters.
The content of the book is good. Kathryn has done the research, read surveys, and presented the relevant statistics to the readers where required. She has referenced other books in multiple places. She struggled with this addiction in her work life which also affects her personal life. Her journey was worth reading, and her advice can help a lot of people.
The book falls short in terms of editing. The better a book is edited, the easier it is to read and understand it. There were simple grammatical and spelling errors, and the first two chapters were a bit of a drag to read. Additionally, I felt that it focused too much on lawyers after a point and ignored the other zero-sum professions though they were discussed quite a lot at the beginning of the book. The way quotes were used while giving someone else’s perspective on something got bothersome at times.
All-in-all, I’m glad I read the book. This addiction is not easy to spot, so I think people should read this book to understand it, understand her journey, and learn how to overcome it. As a person who has gone through it herself, Kathryn’s writing comes from a place of understanding, and it is comforting to those who are struggling like she did before.
Kathryn mentions that one of her main aims was to help people understand that you don’t have to hit rock bottom to recognize this addiction and transform yourself. I believe she has accomplished this.