Journalist Jennifer Breheny Wallace

Discover the deep roots of toxic achievement culture with the Hudson Library & Historical Society on Tuesday, February 13 at 7 p.m. when journalist Jennifer Wallace discusses her new book, Never Enough. Hailed by the Wall Street Journal as, “A timely exploration of adolescent achievement culture,” Never Enough offers an urgent, humane view of the crisis plaguing today’s teens and a practical framework for how to help. 

In the ever more competitive race to secure the best possible future, today’s students face unprecedented pressure to succeed. They jam-pack their schedules with AP classes, fill every waking hour with resume-padding activities, and even sabotage relationships with friends to “get ahead.” Family incomes and schedules are stretched to the breaking point by tutoring fees and athletic schedules. Yet this drive to optimize performance has only resulted in skyrocketing rates of anxiety, depression, and even self-harm in America’s highest-achieving schools. Parents, educators, and community leaders are facing the same quandary: how can we teach our kids to strive toward excellence without crushing them? Drawing on interviews with families, educators, and an original survey of nearly 6,000 parents, Never Enough exposes how the pressure to perform is not a matter of parental choice but baked into our larger society and spurred by increasing income inequality and dwindling opportunities. As a result, children are increasingly absorbing the message that they have no value outside of their accomplishments, a message that is reinforced by the media and greater culture at large. 

Jennifer Wallace is an award-winning journalist and social commentator covering parenting and lifestyle trends. She is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post and appears on television to discuss her articles and other hot topics in the news. After graduating from Harvard College, Jennifer began her career in television at "60 Minutes," where she was part of a team that won The Robert F. Kennedy Award for Excellence in Journalism.  

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