The Quiet Damage

“Where the book shines is in creating empathy for a group of people frequently dismissed or misunderstood, and for their grieving and divided families … By delving into the ways people become susceptible to QAnon, Cook uncovers a deeper truth: Many of us go through life with a gaping hole caused by trauma, isolation or shame, and we find healthy and unhealthy ways to fill it. For people like Doris and Kendra, QAnon’s message, however insane it sounds (and is), makes them feel valued and valuable.”—The New York Times“Each is tragic and heartbreaking in its own way. All feel highly pertinent to the political realities of the moment, where great masses of people share beliefs that are demonstrably untrue.”—The Bulwark“Cook illuminates vividly the experience of loving someone in crisis—a crisis you can’t fully understand and definitely didn’t anticipate—and the impossible question of how long to stand by them… . The stories are gripping not just because QAnon is so bewilderingly strange but also because the idea of a person you love disappearing before your eyes is so terrible—and perhaps for many readers, relatable… . [T]he book feels briefly hopeful. With patience and empathy, it seems to suggest, you can reach someone who once felt very, very far away.”—The Atlantic“If you are wondering why so many people seem to be slipping into alternative and frightening realities, you have to read this brilliant book. It’s compassionate, wise, thoroughly reported—and terrifying. One of the defining books of our time.”—Johann Hari, New York Times bestselling author of Stolen Focus“Captivating from the very first page, The Quiet Damage floored me. With empathetic storytelling and an exquisite eye for detail, Jesselyn Cook ushers readers into the darkest corners of the internet to document how disinformation is dismantling family bonds and disintegrating the social fabric. Gracefully written and thoroughly researched, this book is essential for this era.”—Toluse Olorunnipa, Pulitzer Prize–winning coauthor of His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice and White House Bureau Chief at The Washington Post“This book is brilliant, heartbreaking, and necessary reading. Through tender stories of families riven by social media, politics, and trauma … Cook offers an essential account of the context and human cost of conspiracy theory.”—Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America, poet, and contributing writer for The New Yorker

Jesselyn Cook is an award-winning investigative reporter and journalism lecturer who has written extensively about online conspiracy theories and their offline harms. Prior to covering the tech beat at NBC News, she was a senior reporter on HuffPost’s national enterprise desk. She holds a master’s degree in journalism and international relations from New York University and was selected as a 2025 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.