Love & Miss Communication: Can You Give Up the Internet?

About Love and Miss Communication

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (May 12, 2015)

This unforgettable debut novel asks us to look up from our screens and out at the world . . . and to imagine what life would be like with no searches, no status updates, no texts, no Tweets, no pins, and no posts

Evie Rosen has had enough. She's tired of the partners at her law firm e-mailing her at all hours of the night. The thought of another online date makes her break out in a cold sweat. She's over the clever hashtags and the endless selfies. So when her career hits a surprising roadblock and her heart is crushed by Facebook, Evie decides it's time to put down her smartphone for good. (Beats stowing it in her underwear—she's done that too!)

And that's when she discovers a fresh start for real conversations, fewer distractions, and living in the moment, even if the moments are heartbreakingly difficult. Babies are born; marriages teeter; friendships are tested. Evie may find love and a new direction when she least expects it, but she also learns that just because you unplug your phone doesn't mean you can also unplug from life.

Purchase Links

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My Review:
I have often thought about what a waste of time the social networking sites are, cesspools of one-up-manship, jealousy, bragging, and fakeness. I mean, seriously, we don't post pictures of ourselves looking like crap and just how often do we say how we really feel? And when we do, nobody can handle it and it becomes an online fight. And yes, I gave up Facebook. I'd like to see others try it. OMG. What did we do before we could sit here all day and "like" 50 selfies a day?

So I appreciated this story line. A woman realizes she has an email addiction, loses her job and her blackberry and decides to change her life. She begins to ask herself important questions we should all consider. "How does looking at photos of my ex on Facebook help me? Do I really need to Google everyone I meet? Am I being real when I post here? Am I interacting with the real world anymore?"

Being Internet free changes her life, her career, her love life. She also realizes things about herself she didn't want to admit before and learns to move on from the past.

I think this story has terrific food for thought. It's well written and engaging most of the time, though I felt it was a bit too long for what it contacted and my interest was lagging by the end of the story. There were also side stories that I didn't care and in my eyes didn't add to the main story, like the young college kid in the office.

But I think everyone everywhere could walk away having learned something from this.

About Elyssa Friedland

Elyssa Friedland attended Yale University, where she served as managing editor of the Yale Daily News. She is a graduate of Columbia Law School and subsequently worked as an associate at a major firm. Prior to law school, Elyssa wrote for several publications, including Modern Bride, New York magazine, Columbia Journalism Review, CBS MarketWatch.com, Yale Alumni Magazine, and Your Prom. She grew up in New Jersey and currently lives in New York City with her husband and three young children.

Find out more about Elyssa at her website, and connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.