An unapologetic work of fiction that scintillates with wit and vigorous honesty scouring every page. Leo--an aspiring writer in his early-twenties living in suburban Massachusetts--is a discreet heroin addict unable to stomach the inanity of day to day life, living vicariously through the writings of Henry Miller and Jack Kerouac. Drug-laden trips to a local Zen Monastery and shoplifting excursions at the local bookstore occupy his idle time. After being invited to a poetry reading in Boston, he meets Cole--a recently divorced middle-aged man, on the verge of a mental breakdown--who, along with a streetwise homeless man named Zanzi, unveils a plan to cure the world from the so-called virtues of stoicism and austerity, and usher in a new era of unabashed happiness. Together, they come up with the #laughterchallenge: a viral video challenge which encourages groups of friends to record themselves laughing hysterically together for at least a minute straight. The #laughterchallenge becomes the catalyst for the true Laughter Challenge; in which the entire city of Boston will congregate together on the summer solstice to laugh together, and otherwise lose their minds, for a few minutes, in a demonstration of free expression and communal joy. As Leo becomes further involved in this movement, he swirls into a downward spiral of fear and anxiety whilst simultaneously trying to put an end to his agonizing opiate addiction. Likewise, Cole begins to feel the pressure of his growing celebrity, and struggles to avoid becoming a fraudulent self-help guru while preaching the paradoxical idea of being seriously committed to silliness and laughter. Is more madness the path to happiness, and if so, why is unbridled joy and silliness stigmatized in a society riddled with anxiety and depression? A dark narrative with humor, intelligence, and a nervous tension driving the plot forward, Slender Notions is at once a brutal account of opiate addiction, and an inquisition into the pursuit of happiness.