Customer Reviews

Conquering Your Quarterlife Crisis: Advice from Twentysomethings Who Have Been There and Survived (Perigee Book)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

Highly recommended.

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.

The most important thing about "Conquering your Quarterlife Crisis" is that it is, amazingly, trying to prepare you in all the ways your education didn't, for the road ahead. Like a mid-life crisis, a quarterlife crisis occurs when you don't know what you want to do with your life, and amazingly, our generation seems to be experiencing this angst pretty early in life.

My own conclusions from this book are very simple: we have failed again and again to give the best and brightest individuals in this country incentives to pursue what they really care about, and to take audacious risks. The result is a period of paralyzing uncertainty following the undergraduate years, which for some leads to the decision to attend graduate school, which can often just plunge them into even more immobilizing student loan debt (without ever really solving the core problem of self-realization).

Ms. Robbins presents amazing stories of twentysomethings struggling with this existential anxiety, and relays the sensible advice that every school should be teaching its students: take risks, and don't be afraid to fail, because failure on one endeavor is perhaps the very best education for the next. (And don't be afraid to be happy!)

Turning 25 was no fun at all! I was still living with roomates in a rented furnished room and working in a job versus a career. Everyone else seemed to be on the up and up except me and it threw me into a myriad of emotional distress that if the first 25 years could do this fast, what's going to happen to me in the next and the next. Thank God it wasn't just me! At 25 most people are less than 5 years out of post-secondary and less than 10 from High School graduation. For me, it was the fear that I would be the only one who wasn't "successful" at my tenth anniversary reunion. The pressure to get a foothold in life is tremendous and 25 is a measurement point becuase 30 lurks much closer than ever. So, do know you are NOT alone. In fact, many people share the same concerns and only hit stride in their 30's. Glisten some tips and tactics for making it through and don't try for too many quick fixes. If this book offers any uplifting options it is ... that you need not figure this out alone. If I can personally offer you any advice after passing through 2 mid-life crisis points at 21 and 25 ... it is this .... find out what you love, discover what calls to you, and build your inner strength to go after it. A great place to start is "Finding Your North Star" by Dr. Martha Beck ...and see where it navigates from there. Above all else, create and sustain a nourishing love for yourself and seek communities of people who do the same for themselves and to you.

Conquering Your Quarterlife Crisis is a MUCH better book than its predecessor. I was psyched to find a book that I could read quickly and glean reams of terrific tips for surviving my 20s. The "mentor" 20somethings and 30somethings in this book are down-to-earth and relatable, and their and Ms Robbins' words of advice are the best advice I've heard for this age group.