What to read to understand opting out

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (1996)

In the spring of 1992, a college graduate from a well-to-do family in Washington DC – having gifted his savings to Oxfam, burned his cash and ditched his car – set out for the Alaska hinterlands with only the belongings on his back. Though Christopher McCandless was prepared mentally for his sojourn, he was woefully underequipped. From truck drivers who lent him winter boots to the small-business owners who temporarily employed him, this survival biography proves that it’s not our worldly possessions that keep us tethered to civilisation: it’s the relationships we form.

Nobody is Ever Missing by Catherine Lacey (2014)

In this slim novel, a married American woman in her 20s goes so far off the course charted for her in Manhattan that she ends up 14,500km from home because a poet she met at a party said New Zealand was a “nice place to go”. As Elyria roams around a foreign nation, her life back home begins to feel far stranger than anything she’s experiencing in the land of the long white cloud. Absurdist, tender and funny, this is a beautiful book about a person taking an unexpected, unplanned timeout.

A Year of Nothing by Emma Gannon (2026)

Alan Anderson and Emma Gannon have something in common. Alan is the fictional hero of my book Alan Opts Out, and Emma is a real, bestselling author, but both attempt the unthinkable: they slow down, rest, and try to enjoy what they already possess, instead of striving for what they do not have. A perfect read for the kind of person who prefers encouragement by example instead of prescriptive preaching, Emma’s candid and earnest memoir of her journey towards a slower, more whole life will remind you that home is where the heart restores itself. 

Alan Opts Out by Courtney Maum is published by John Murray (£20). Order a copy from The Observer Shop for £18 (10% off RRP). Delivery charges may apply

Photograph by Camerique via Getty Images