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Amil Niazi is the writer behind The Cut’s column 'The Hard Part' and author of a new book: Life After Ambition: A “Good Enough” Memoir.

You might’ve read Amil’s piece Losing My Ambition, which went viral back in 2022— partly because it named something that was already in the air post-pandemic: this creeping disillusionment, not just with our jobs, but with the whole story we were sold about work.

In this conversation we talk about the shift from ambition as aspiration to ambition as survival strategy, and what it means to work hard and still find that the doors don’t open. We also talk about motherhood vs. work. vs. meaning, the burgeoning Millennial mid-life crisis, and of course Amil shares her favourite books.

@phoebelovatt

@deepread.phoebelovatt

@amilniazi

phoebe.substack.com