Why I Wrote The Collapse of Care
I’ve had this book in my mind for years. In fact, I started writing it about four years ago, finished a rough draft, and then let it rest. It wasn’t an easy story to tell, and at that time, I had to put it aside.
Almost a year ago, I picked it up again. I knew I had to finish it - to let those feelings out - before - I could move on to something new.
But what is The Collapse of Care about?
It’s not an autobiography - not in the way you might think - and it’s not a precise documentation of real events. But everything in it, I’ve seen in some form.
I’ve seen people being witch-hunted for mistakes. I’ve seen people working long hours, clinging to false promises. I’ve seen people burned out for caring too much - or for trying too hard.
I’ve also seen the other extreme: people doing the bare minimum, sometimes barely an hour of work a day in full-time office jobs. Yes, you can fake it even without remote work. I’ve seen colleagues spend their days in coffee rooms, or even sleeping in their cars.
Were they bad people? Definitely not.
They were victims - of witch-hunts, of false promises, of caring too much in environments that punished effort instead of supporting it. But they also became a burden for teammates who were simply trying to survive.
The Collapse of Care tells the story of Miguel, a young engineer who burns out, then withdraws from responsibility as a defense mechanism - avoiding risk, avoiding effort - until he finally walks away.
I hope you’ll never experience that spiral yourself. But awareness matters. Because the truth is: these stories happen quietly, in many teams, in many companies.
That’s why I wrote this book. Not to point fingers, but to shine a light - on what can happen in unsupportive environments, and on the quiet harm we do to ourselves and to our teams when our only defense is complete withdrawal.
👉 Read The Collapse of Care to recognize the warning signs - and to remind yourself that caring is valuable, but it must be protected.