
Now Is Not a Good Time for a Breakdown
Mel West(Author)
Archway Publishing
Published on 19. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
452 pages
978-1-6657-9328-5 (ISBN)
Description
A refreshing and boldly human story of one woman's personal reckoning and
subsequent self-discovery-from a debut novelist to watch. Jess has everything
she thought she wanted: a thriving career, a packed social calendar, and a New
York City apartment with her best friend.
On paper, she's thriving; in reality, she's unraveling-stuck between the life
she imagined and the one she's living. When her best friend falls in love,
Jess's sense of stability begins to slip as the cracks in her seemingly perfect
life begin to show. Torn between stability and desire, Jess finds herself
caught between two men: Greg, a picture-perfect architect, whose version of
adulthood promises comfort and security, and Taylor, a magnetic bartender,
who awakens the opportunity for exhilaration and escape.
Th en the world shuts down... As the Covid-19 pandemic spreads to New York
City, the fragile vices holding Jess's life together collapse leaving her alone with
questions she's been avoiding.
Cue a breakdown, as Jess takes stock of her life beyond its successful exterior:
excess, avoidant ambition, situationships, and insincerity; and, instead of
unraveling, considers the terrifying freedom of starting over.
Darkly funny and emotionally raw, Now is Not a Good Time for a Breakdown
is an empowering coming-of-age novel examining what it means to come into
your own when visible markers of success aren't enough to stifl e the feeling
of quietly falling apart.
More details
Language
English
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
729 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-6657-9328-5 (9781665793285)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2026
Archway Publishing
€9.49
Available for download