The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family by Jesselyn Cook

Review of The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family by Jesselyn Cook

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The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family by Jesselyn Cook (2024). Published in Crown.

If you’re new here, and stumbled upon this blog through the mythical powers of the Internet, welcome! I know a lot of visitors to my website are people who randomly come upon this website through search engines like Google, but I also do have a lot of visitors who come back. Regardless: my name is Ashley, and I started this blog in order to keep track of everything I’m coming across in the world.

This blog post is interesting to me because lately, I’ve been struggling to get in my reading time. I was working for the longest time as a freelancer and contractor, but recently pivoted to an 8-5 job where I’m in an office. It’s not hybrid, so I’m always at home trying to put the puzzle pieces together of how I’ll get my reading done. I also continue working on this blog when I’m not at work, so the Instagram reels I’m fed about a 5-9 feel too real right now.

Anyways, I am trying to find that time to read here and there. Somehow I’m still on track for my Goodreads goal, even though I’ve been slowly giving up on the notion of reading goals in life. I think they can be a little too much pressure and takes the fun off of reading at the end of the day, and I want to read because I want to stay in touch with literature while also pursuing my side career as a writer.

Today’s blog post comes from a book I’ve been eyeing ever since it was released: The Quiet Damage. It’s a book that feels increasingly relevant in today’s society, especially ever since the 2024 election. I find that conspiracy theories are ripe, and I can see the impact of them on people I’ve been surrounded with even.

That said, I’ve never read a book on this subject, so this was a harrowing read. Let’s get into the review!

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The compiled stories of people who increasingly fell into rightwing conspiracy theories and those around them who were impacted.

In this nonfiction book, each chapter switches back and forth between individuals who’ve fallen down the QAnon hole and their family members and friends watch as they continue to spiral deeper in that hole. For some of these people, their fall into the conspiracy theory hole is something shocking to everyone around them.

One of the individuals is a mother who had a prolific career as a lawyer and was an advocate. Her son describes how she fell originally into conspiracy theories and how their family, including her sisters, increasingly distanced themselves from their mother as she continued to believe them more and more. She even turned to Facebook in order to diffuse her beliefs, leading to further social alienation.

Another profile is on two sisters. They were both African-Americans who grew up in deep poverty, but their paths couldn’t be any different. As one sister grew up and become a Black Lives Matter activist and advocates for social issues, the other sister fell victim to conspiracy theories and even took on stances that could be considered racist.

For another couple, who consists of a former hippie and her fiance, the rift continued to grow when the woman abandoned her social activist roots and started posting on Facebook about rightwing talking points and things that are indicative of QAnon. Her fiance becomes concerned by her opinions and behavior, leading to a rift there, as well as with her old friends who are shocked by her transformation.

Then there are the religious parents who, despite living in standard American suburbia, find themselves consumed by the things that they’re reading on the Internet. Once again, we see how people can easily stumble upon something online and then end up completely different than how they started.

The final interviews and case study in this book is an elderly couple who’ve been together for decades. But when one of them starts falling down the conspiracy rabbit hole, it puts a major strain on their relationship and creates a new test that they might not overcome. It feels like a tragedy in so many different ways—which is something I find accurate to describe all of the stories and sentiments described in this book.

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Overall Thoughts

I thought the writing in this book was brilliant, especially considering the writer, Cook, is a journalist who fused together the different elements of interviews. Pacing out the structure by alternating stories every chapter also kept us wanting to read more, especially when we reached more mundane or repetitive moments in the stories.

That said, this can be a harrowing book. It shows how ordinary people can easily fall victim to conspiracy theories and rhetoric. These individuals are competent and some even highly educated, showing that literally anyone can be susceptible.

I would say that if you’re interested in this piece of nonfiction, I would highly recommend picking it up when you have the chance. It might be triggering in some ways, especially if you know people like this, and I found myself tearing up in some sections.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book! Go give it a chance if you haven’t already.

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