A few years ago, Wendy Syfret had a “cool” job, a nice partner and a stylish apartment—all trappings of a “meaningful” life that signalled she was “doing it right” (while also inducing a little Instagram envy). But she was living in a constant state of anxiety, waking nightly at 3 a.m. to answer emails for what was in reality an entry-level media job. One day she nearly collapsed under a wave of panic about the inescapable pressure cooker that was her never-ending pursuit of achievement. Then she had an epiphany: none of it mattered and one day she’d be dead. Suddenly she could breathe again, for what felt like the first time in ages. She had discovered what she’s come to think of as sunny nihilism.

Sweet Nothing explores how accepting that your life has no meaning in the grand scheme of the universe is actually incredibly freeing. In fact, it is already a prevalent belief in our culture, particularly among millennials and Gen Zs. Readers will gain an accessible entry into sunny nihilism and an understanding of nihilism’s history and pitfalls. And they will learn to focus on the freedom to celebrate the immediate, appreciate the beautiful chaos of life, and invest energy into things that will make the world a better place—because literally nothing else matters. In an era defined by collective burnout, economic downturns, performative excellence, housing crises, plans waylaid by pandemics, and maintaining a perfect Instagram aesthetic, a little nothingness really is sweet.

Published outside Canada as The Sunny Nihilist