For decades critics have lamented the increasing materialism of American culture. In this book, the author takes look at the role objects play in our daily lives. She acknowledges the pleasures of living in a material world and she explores the ubiquitous effort to make intangibles like love, self-esteem, success, health, happiness, control, superiority, perfection, morality and safety manifest through ownership of things. Yet, the author encourages readers to explore how a consumption-crazed culture affects their own relationships with objects. She offers insight into the pressures of living in a possession-obsessed environment-and ways to tame materialism in our own life.
