Alan Opts Out
Courtney Maum
May 2026 · John Murray
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infoThis book will become available on May 7, 2026. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this audiobook
After successful ad exec Alan Anderson bombs the biggest pitch of his career, he has an epiphany. His entire career has been about making people buy stuff that they don't need so they feel perpetually unsatisfied and less-than. After a lifetime of striving for capitalism, Alan is opting out.
He retires to the ridiculously extravagant playhouse in his family's suburban Connecticut garden (a classic example of something the Andersons didn't need), gives up showering, shoe-wearing, and purchases of all kinds. He might even read a book! This is all very upsetting for his wife Vivian, who is on the verge of being accepted into the insanely elite Queen's Anne Club - guaranteed to make all her insecurities disappear and her children popular.
But maybe everyone will want to buy what Alan's not selling? And, in losing his ambition, might he find what we're all looking for?
For anyone who has ever cared more about how it looked than how it felt, ALAN OPTS OUT is a hilarious take on consumerism, capitalism and wellness.
He retires to the ridiculously extravagant playhouse in his family's suburban Connecticut garden (a classic example of something the Andersons didn't need), gives up showering, shoe-wearing, and purchases of all kinds. He might even read a book! This is all very upsetting for his wife Vivian, who is on the verge of being accepted into the insanely elite Queen's Anne Club - guaranteed to make all her insecurities disappear and her children popular.
But maybe everyone will want to buy what Alan's not selling? And, in losing his ambition, might he find what we're all looking for?
For anyone who has ever cared more about how it looked than how it felt, ALAN OPTS OUT is a hilarious take on consumerism, capitalism and wellness.
About the author
Courtney Maum is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking publishing guide, Before and After the Book Deal and the memoir, The Year of the Horses. A writing coach and executive director of the nonprofit learning collaborative, The Cabins, Courtney's mission is to help people hold on to the joy of art-making in a culture obsessed with turning artists into brands. With her filmmaker husband, she has co-written films that have debuted at Sundance and won awards at Cannes.
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