It Doesn't Have to Be This Way: What I Learned When I Left America

New York Times bestselling author and political analyst Kirsten Powers offers a stunning and timely exploration of the ways in which so many Americans are being left behind—and how many of us are finding that the American Dream is more attainable when we leave America behind instead. Americans are burnt out. It’s not just the wars, the global pandemic, and the toxic and divisive political shift. Are there any among us who haven’t dreamed of a more balanced life abroad? (Indeed, an unprecedented number of Americans have emigrated in recent years.) When Kirsten Powers began to consider leaving the U.S., and her successful career in politics and journalism, she couldn’t stop thinking, “We don’t have to live like this.” We shouldn’t have to worry that a medical procedure will force us into bankruptcy. We shouldn’t have to fear our children will be shot at school, or that they will finish college only if they take on a mountain of debt. We shouldn't have to wonder whether we will ever be able to retire. It Doesn't Have to Be This Way shares an urgent, compassionate critique of our country’s unique brand of individualism and glaring lack of social safety nets. Once she was away from the hustle and grind, living in the boot-heel of Italy and restoring a 200-year-old trullo, Kirsten found that in much of the world, "slow living" is just … living. There are still places where: children have normal childhoods with unscheduled play parents aren't perpetually exhausted and stressed adults have time to see friends and connect with community being super busy isn't a sign of importance, but of a life out of balance Here, Kirsten shares her own lessons as well as those of Americans living in countries where the pursuit of happiness is not a mad race to the top, but instead an everyday striving for goodness—as well as her insights about where we might go from here.