Read Time: 3 Minutes
Jolene Smith, a 33-year-old administrative assistant at Supershops Incorporated, has mastered the art of workplace invisibility. She has pretty much faded into the office wallpaper. Her days are a blend of passive-aggressive email threads, awkward break room encounters, and complete emotional disengagement. She’s over the corporate life, the stilted small talk, everything.
She keeps her interactions are minimal and her presence is barely registered – a survival tactic in a corporate world that feels more like a soul-sucking vortex than a career path. The only thing keeping her mildly sane is writing snarky, hidden messages in white font at the end of her emails directed at the coworkers she can’t stand.
That was bound for disaster, of course, so when one of these hidden gems becomes not-so-hidden, Jolene finds herself in HR’s crosshairs. Instead of instant termination, she is put into corporate sensitivity training course and under digital surveillance. By accident, she’s granted God-like access to her coworkers’ private emails and instant messages.
What unfolds is a journey from detached clock-puncher to reluctant participant in the lives around her. Through the windows into her colleagues’ worlds, Jolene begins to see them in a new light and comes to understand that everyone has things they’re battling with even if it’s not obvious. It’s like holding a mirror up to her own issues, which scares her.
Beneath the humour and office absurdity lies something much more poignant – a layered, often raw look at a woman who is quietly, deeply not okay. Jolene has been running on fumes since the death of her best friend. An accident during her high school graduation kicked off a trauma she blames herself for to this day. She’s numb, cynical, self-medicating, and coasting through life like someone who’s quietly waiting for it to end. Her coping mechanisms of alcohol, detachment, and sarcasm are her armour and her prison.
The book doesn’t wave a magic wand over any of this. Instead, it gently nudges her (and us) toward acknowledging that grief and guilt don’t go away just because you ignore them. As she’s given this strange glimpse into the messy, vulnerable lives of her coworkers, Jolene’s own walls start to crack. And while there’s no dramatic overnight transformation, what unfolds is a slow, believable shift as she starts to confront her pain—and realise she’s not as alone as she thought.
This is where the book really shines. It treats mental health with care and realism, never glossing over Jolene’s emotional fragility, but also never reducing her to just that. It’s a reminder that being a mess is survivable, and maybe, just maybe, she’s allowed to want more than just existing.
Nasim Pedrad’s narration was excellent, though at times some of her voices were hard to distinguish which did lead to minor confusion on my part at times. Her delivery though captures Jolene’s sarcasm and vulnerability, making the character’s journey all the more compelling. Pedrad’s performance ensures that the humour lands without undermining the story’s emotional depth.
I Hope This Finds You Well is a delightful exploration of modern office life, personal growth, and the unexpected ways we connect with others. It’s a story that resonates with anyone who’s ever felt lost in the corporate machine, offering a humorous yet heartfelt reminder that change often begins with the smallest acts of rebellion. As someone who has worked in a cubical farm (and now worse, the open plan office), I can certainly sympathise with Jolene!