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Release date: October 5, 2004 | Series: Perigee Book
The practical followup to the acclaimed bestseller
In 2001, the groundbreaking book Quarterlife Crisis® addressed the unique and unsettling trials of entering modern adulthood. For the first time, it identified how twentysomethings were lost and confused, and lamented the absence of a guide-a roadmap with solutions for how to emerge from the crisis successful, happy, and sane.
Now, the author of Quarterlife Crisis® delivers that roadmap. Alexandra Robbins goes beyond defining the problem of the quarterlife crisis and puts readers on the path to conquering it. She asks-and answers-the tough, soul-searching questions that keep young adults awake at night:
- How do I weigh doing what I love versus making money? - Will I ever find my "soul mate"? - Why is it so hard to make friends? - Why are my twenties so different from what I expected?
With new voices as well as follow-up interviews with some of the original Quarterlife Crisis® twentysomethings, Conquering Your Quarterlife Crisis® is the new go-to guide for people who want it all...but just aren't sure what that is yet.
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A new book and a new message for the millions of 20-somethings who are still lost -- Tulsa World
A roadmap for emerging from one's 20s successful, happy and grounded -- Publishers Weekly
Down-to-earth advice from hundreds of people who successfully walloped the quarterlife crisis -- Indianapolis Star
Highly effective. . . . Every reader is likely to find one person who truly speaks to his or her concerns. -- Newhouse News Service
Many of our readers in their 20s and early 30s could relate -- Times Herald
Robbins gets answers [that] can point a person in the right direction -- Chicago Tribune
There's a lot of good career advice here -- Washington Post
About the Author
Alexandra Robbins, a contributing editor at Mademoiselle, is a journalist who has written for such publications as The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, Salon, and Time Digital.
* Find me on Facebook for new character updates, contests to win free books, to give feedback, etc.* www.facebook.com/AuthorAlexandraRobbins. *You can also follow me on Twitter @AlexndraRobbins
I never know what to write for these things, so I'll just paste my publisher's bio: New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Robbins is the author of Goodreads' BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF 2011: "The Geeks Shall Inherit The Earth" - also a 2012 Books for a Better Life winner - and five other books.
The winner of the Heartsongs Award for contribution to the mental health of children and young adults, Robbins has written for several publications, including Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Forbes, and regularly appears in the national media on shows such as "Oprah," "The Today Show," "60 Minutes," "The View," and "The Colbert Report." Robbins frequently lectures about her books and is touring in 2013. To view topics or book a lecture, please visit alexandrarobbins.com.
I read Alexandra Robbins's "Conquering Your Quarterlife Crisis." Every now and then, I need a kick in the bum to make me realize other people out there have the same fears, set-backs, and failures as I have. It's not easy being in your 20s. When you leave school, especially college, you have this ideal that your life is going to just work itself out. You'll land a great job, meet the person of your dreams, and buy the home you've always wanted. Needless to say, it gets you down when you're still single, can't afford living on your own, and your job isn't what you thought it would be.
Many of the chapter titles had the same questions and statements that I've pondered. These are the chapters that meant the most to me:
- What if I don't know what I want?
- When do I let go of my dream?
- Why am I having trouble meeting people?
- How important are sparks?
- How do I weight doing something I love versus making money?
- What if I feel like I'm "stuck"?
- How do I stop comparing myself to other people?
- How do I stop feeling so overwhelmed?
However, I didn't find this book very helpful beyond the "I'm not alone" factor. Sure these are questions I've asked and it's nice to read that other people are going through the same thing. But there's very little in the way of advice for dealing with these concerns. The best advice came from the contributors (make lists, imagine this scenario, ask yourself these questions, etc.). Robbins seemed to summarize the contributors' advice in the chapter conclusions in a hopes to claim credit for the idea.
What a fantastic book! Ms. Robbins writes to today's youth from a point of view of someone who has been there and, unlike many, provides actual, useful, well thought out, and practiced advice. I would highly recommend this book to all college aged "kids" out there -- or for parents to ship off to them!
This book, I picked it up on a whim but it has already made me think differently about my life and how I'm going to make it better. I didn't even read the chapters in order - I just poked around, looking at questions that interested me at first, but then I kept finding something valuable so I read the whole thing. I never thought I'd read a self help book, but this one was so different than I thought. It's astoundingly helpful.
Conquering Your Quarterlife Crisis is an exceptionally written book that delivers exactly what I need--ADVICE! I am in my Quarterlife Crisis now. I identify directly with several of the mentors. I read the book in 2 days, and I'm so happy I did.
The ambition of the book is great. I think the questions posed in the book are pertinent and worth answering for a generation that is facing an entirely new landscape without pre-built tools for dealing with it. She starts out strong with her statement of purpose, but with each new chapter you feel a little bit more disappointed as they continually fall short of being useful.
The book has a lot of feelings in it. There are stories from many "mentors" who have endured tragic or hectic circumstances and much of what they have to say revolves around how they *felt* at the time and how they *feel* now. Some of it is, of course, practical, like "I went to see a therapist" which could actually be practical advice for many people in similar situations, but most of it is really very abstract and touchy-feely.
The attempt by the author and the mentors to deliver difficult solutions for difficult problems is surely a Herculean task and I am appreciative for that much, but I don't feel that I would derive any real value from the book were I having a quarterlife crisis. I suppose that's a large bias that I should flag: I don't feel plagued by any of the questions posed in the book, so it may simply be a case of not falling in the target audience.
I don't think that's exactly it though, but rather more due to my ruthlessly logical nature. I appreciate the emotion involved with traumatic events, but, first, most of the events described in the book don't strike me as traumatic per se, but rather just frustrating. Second, I am loath to accept advice such as "just believe in yourself and eventually your dreams will come true". That advice was dispensed more than once in the book and seemed to be compatible with the book's overarching theme. I like concrete advice....
The truth is that there is absolutely no guarantee that you'll accomplish any of your dreams. The phrase "get rich or die trying" has more truth in it than this entire book when it comes to accomplishing real success.
That said, anyone who feels emotionally overwhelmed by something like a quarterlife crisis might find solace (comforting though possibly useless) in this book.Read more ›
After reading other reviews of this book, I decided to check it out for myself. Either they read a different book than me or they didn't read it all.
While Ms. Robbins' writing form is adequate this book provides very little insight. Some of the personal stories she re-tells are interesting reads but there is never any real connection given or application made to give assistance within one's own life.
Flat-out, this book does not make you think.
As a compilation of stories, I'd give it three stars but for it's claim to provide help with this stage of our lives, one star is the only fair designation.
"Conquering Your Quarterlife Crisis: Advice From Twentysomethings Who
Have Been There and Survived." Was great! When you read it you get stories advice from hundreds of voices. I read a minim of 20 people in a situation very similar to mine. This book is a good new way to tackle the scary problems. Story/crisis problem evaluation and boom way to counqer.It's a fast and fluid read too. Who has time to poll 100 people and analyze and got work on a method of conquering the problem. Great to see that a lot of really smart people out there having the same stupid problems as me and no just because people tell you SUCESSFUL smart people have some of the same problems and questions as you won't believe it till you read some of this fascinating but totally realistic case studies! * Also you things improve for people then go bad again Yin Yang up down but then they tell you how they deal with it in their narrative or you get the answer in the conquer portion of the book. There are also some excellent tips that you get fast. So if you don't have time to read huge volumes or go to a shrink or a discussion group because hey a lot of people can't do that. Read this I think this book and it's self improvement technique are going to be a new way kind of like the reality TV of self help but sophisticated. The realism and real stories are dramatic not boring but not made up or phony either. In fact you feel a lot emotions relating to all these people- YOU JUST WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO ALL THE PEOPLE IN THIS BOOK AND HOW THEY CONQUER AND SURVIVE!!
There are parts of the book that get you down because it's reality which can be scary. However in the end things seem to work out for people in the case studies you get empowered. No need for Dr. Phil. You look at the case studies your self.... You se countless issues and problems then points of view then points of view on how to conquer them. People find realistic fulfillment realist problems real answers for you to draw ideas on ho to as the author says "conquer". Stories are of interesting people like you the reader and there are so many people that reader will have to fit with several types. I felt sorry for the artsy types who were struggling. But you see they get answers not just sympathy. You see how 911 and the dot com bubble burst hurts some people and how they cope.Read more ›
