In an age of online streaming, drunk texting, bottomless brunching, internet dating, immediate car-sharing, and so much more, the minutia of our daily lives is on display for leering eyes. Now in What Are We Even Doing With Our Lives, Chelsea Marshall and Mary Dauterman give adults a healthy dose of humor disguised in a children’s book format akin to Go the F**k to Sleep and Goodnight, iPad. With hilarity and poignancy, Marshall and Dauterman depict our day-to-day nothingness, pairing illustrations with a narrative filled with characters who encounter a vast array of ridiculous situations.
Chelsea Marshall is the lead animals editor at BuzzFeed, where her written and video content has amassed hundreds of millions of views. She has worked for The Colbert Report, SNL, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. In addition to her day job, she travels the country doing improv, hosting shows with headliners like SNL‘s Michael Che, and leading BuzzFeed’s humor-writing workshops. Mary Dauterman is an illustrator/art director/thing-making person. She grew up in Texas and currently lives in Brooklyn. Her various work has been recognized by notable publications including The New York Times, NPR, Vice Magazine, Time, and Huffington Post.
In this fictional, but all-too-real, world that Marshall and Dauterman have created, characters like Freelancer Frank, Environmental Lawyer Erin, Beauty blogger Bethany, and Realtor Rick navigate their most dreadful and pointless existences by cutting corners, feigning seriousness, and, mostly, just farting around. But remember, the characters of What Are We Even Doing With Our Lives? are very, very busy, and they want you to know it! Their struggles include everything from balancing internet followers with their day jobs, choosing the right preschool, and understanding the mysteries of the Cloud.
With unflinching humor and an unabashed sense of self-awareness What Are We Even Doing With Our Lives? puts 21st Century life under the microscope and will leave readers laughing but examining their own lives as well.