Now Is Not a Good Time for a Breakdown

By Mel West

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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1665793279
• ISBN13: 9781665793278
• Release Date: March 2026
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Length: 452 Pages
• Weight: 1.67 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"