It's a Wonderful Lie: 26 Truths About Life in Your Twenties [Paperback]

Emily Franklin (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2007

In this original collection, critically acclaimed female writers pull back the curtain on being twenty-something. Entertaining and enlightening, this anthology speaks honestly about that unique time in life when expectations are not always realized, yet surprises are plentiful and thrilling.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Emily Franklin is on the staff of National Public Radio's 'Car Talk' show and lives near Boston with her husband and three children. She is the author of Liner Notes and the Principles of Love Series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: 5 Spot (January 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044669777X
• ISBN-13: 978-0446697774
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #432,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the read, especially if you're currently enduring your twenties, January 20, 2007

By 

Kelly Sessions (Long Island, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's a Wonderful Lie: 26 Truths About Life in Your Twenties (Paperback)

This collection is brilliant. I've been experiencing a bit of angst lately and have been beating myself up over it, constantly telling myself, "I'm in my mid-twenties and shouldn't be thinking like this any more; it's time to grow up!" I feel better to know that I'm not alone and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The authors in this collection are strong, funny, intelligent women. They're the kind of woman that I believe myself to be (on my better days) and aspire to become (on my slightly-more-discouraged days). There were a couple of stories that slowed the pace a bit for me (I don't have the book at hand and don't recall the titles), but all in all, this book made me feel better about life in general, and this decade particularly.

As the oldest of four, I've not known what it was like to sit down and receive encouragement from an older sister. Now I do!

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book I've Ever Read, February 1, 2007

By 

K. Huff "Kris" (Charleston, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's a Wonderful Lie: 26 Truths About Life in Your Twenties (Paperback)

To be honest, your 20's SUCK. Getting out of college sucks. Looking for a career sucks. Making adult friends sucks. And finding your place in the world sucks.

Before I read this book, everyone made me feel like it just sucked for me. But now I know it doesn't. It sucks for everyone. And this book proves it.

This book made me cry and laugh. It's comforting to know that there are other people who have dealt with situations and feelings identical to what I am going through now. It is also comforting to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

This book is the best therapy a girl (or a guy) could ask for. Anyone going through a quarterlife crisis or even just feeling slightly tormented should read this book cover to cover. I promise it'll talk you back from the ledge and I promise you'll feel better afterwards.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not very relevant for today's 20-somethings, May 23, 2011

By 

Kristen - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's a Wonderful Lie: 26 Truths About Life in Your Twenties (Paperback)

I was recommended this book by a friend and was rather disappointed in it. Most of the stories follow the life and career misadventures of women who were in their 20s in the 1990s. Well, I'm 24, now, in 2011, and I had a hard time relating to many of the so-called "struggles" discussed in the book or finding comfort in their resolutions. I cannot relate to the woman who racked up $20,000 in credit card debt and managed to pay it down in just a few years. I don't see my own struggle in the woman who attended an ivy league college and landed glamorous, albeit low-paying jobs in the music industry because of her connections. I have a hard time feeling any sympathy for the woman whose parents paid for her law school, resulting in a lucrative job for her and a passion for dining at expensive restaurants at every given opportunity. Oh but she has to give up a bit of shoe shopping! Riiight.

Maybe it's because my family isn't middle class, maybe it's a generational gap between generations X and Y, but the so-called "struggles" discussed in this book are problems my friends and I would love to have. I found it ironic that the entry-level jobs in major cities that disappointed the authors so much are positions that many in my generation would kill to have. You want a book about your twenties for today's generation? Interview the woman who attended an ivy league school and is now working at Starbucks to pay back $80,000 in student loans. Interview the woman who's been living with her parents because after two years out of college, she still hasn't landed an "entry-level" job that pays her enough to move out. Interview the woman who attended an excellent college only to go on to nursing school at community college because she couldn't find a job outside of retail or food service with her degree.

Reality for today's 20-something is crippling student loan debt, a job market where we have to compete with people with decades of experience for the same "entry level" jobs, and families that just don't understand why we don't have it all together. And for the record, most of us won't go on to have lucrative book deals to pull us out of our quarterlife crisis.

This book is cute and at times encouraging, but it's not today's reality.