Another word for nothin' left to lose

What if our lives were examined in minute detail, from our childhood traumas, to our fears and accomplishments while a young adult, to the disillusionment and search for fulfillment of middle age?  In Freedom, Jonathan Franzen does this with the lives of Patty and Walter Berglund, two 'nice' people who meet in college, live with high ideals, and eventually stray from their values while trying to squeeze more meaning from life.

The story moves around in time, starting in the near present and going back to the early days of their marriage. The time travel eventually goes back to the lives of distant ancestors, and how their lives influence succeeding generations. Several sections of the book are a diary that Patty keeps as a form of therapy, giving insight into her story, and becoming an element in the overall story.

Politics plays a big role in Freedom, with Walter becoming obsessed with overpopulation and its effect on nature, most specifically, birds. Walter's conservative son, Joey, has to choose between getting rich selling worthless truck parts to a contractor in Iraq, or becoming a whistle blower.



I listened to this on an audiobook, and thoroughly enjoyed the narrator. It was long, and at times I wondered how it could keep on going, but once I came to the end, I felt like I lost friends I had grown to care about.