Jacqueline Raposo is a chronic illness author and disabled writer. In this photo by Hanna Agar, she wears a yellow dress and holds a book and a brown bird on her arm, and smiles gently into the camera.

Jacqueline Raposo is a chronic illness author and disabled writer. In this photo by Hanna Agar, she wears a yellow dress and holds a book and a brown bird on her arm, and smiles gently into the camera.

“Raposo’s brave, rigorous, and vulnerable exploration of what it means to live without... [is] essential reading for anyone on the cusp of making a major life change—or even a minor one.”

— Kat Kinsman, mental health advocate and author of Hi, Anxiety

The Me, Without:

A Year Exploring Habit, Healing, and Happiness

2019 U.S., U.K. (Ixia), AU (Black Ink Books)

The yellow book jacket for the chronic illness memoir and self-help book on habit - The Me Without - by Jacqueline Raposo.

The yellow book jacket for the chronic illness memoir and self-help book on habit - The Me Without - by Jacqueline Raposo.

In a world architected for overwhelm, it’s no surprise we often find ourselves wandering exhausted and unsure.

Our modern conveniences are overwhelming us. We own twice the amount of stuff we did fifty years ago, committing to the magical art of tidying up only to purge and buy again. Online dating is at an all-time high across age groups, yet one-third of users never transfer swiping into offline romance. Americans bill more out-out-office hours than any other advanced economy. Social media overuse frazzles psychologists and parents. Binge-watching culture has antiquated the anticipated weekend movie marathon.

Hearing this struggle in the hundreds of humans she’s interviewed — recognizing it within herself — journalist Jacqueline Raposo intimately embraces a life stripped down in The Me, Without: A Year Exploring Habit, Healing, and Happiness. 

Single, sick, and in debt at thirty-four, Raposo progressively shed her most constant habits over the course of one year to measure their absence against her physical health, social interactions, and sense of self-worth. Removing social media, sugar and alcohol consumption, unnecessary spending and more, readers follow as Raposo learns to define each habit, reframe want versus need, and eventually move from mindless inaction into active presence. Chapters weave her violent and profound shifts with source material and conversational interviews with professionals across the arts and sciences. Tech designer Amber Case, filmmaker Roko Belic, science writer Gary Taubes, and others shed light into why our brains and bodies react as they do to our habits, and how everyday choices greatly impact our mental state. 

Part memoir, part case study, The Me, Without delivers readers an expiring example of how to expose hidden wounds, help themselves heal, and forge a new journey.

 

Read the first chapter - free!

“No cheesy self-help here; The Me, Without is sharply written and massively relatable. Raposo packs a powerful message into an emotional and entertaining read.”

— Kaia Roman, author of The Joy Plan

“Jacqueline is able to make me chuckle with one sentence and then have a deep introspective moment in the next. If you have been looking to examine your relationship with the world, this is the book for you!”

— Travis McElroy, podcast master and author of The Adventure Zone

“In her eloquent debut, a memoir and meditation on living with less... Raposo’s engaging report on stripping life down will inspire readers looking for manageable tweaks to hectic living.”

— Publisher’s Weekly 

Press and Speaking

In this talk at the International Festival of Art & Ideas, author Jacqueline Raposo (The Me, Without) shares a bit behind the physical and neurological hiccu...
In this panel discussion, Kat Kinsman, Jacqueline Raposo, Julia Bainbridge, and Missy Robbins (from right to left)delve into the overarching theme of what ha...