Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

I was extremely excited for this book. As a twenty-something who seemingly is constantly in the throes of a quarter life crisis, when my friend told me about this book I thought it would be great. However, I was quite disappointed.
Every story is based 20-something writers. Writers, although able to write an entertaining story, tend to live a different lifestyle financially, culturally, etc. Most of the authors lives in a large city, most were broke struggling writers, etc.
What about all the other 20-somethings out there? I would have enjoyed reading some stories by a variety of 20-somethings, maybe whose stories were edited or helped by professional writers to ensure a good end product.

As a twenty-something, I picked up this book for obvious reasons. It was so heartening to learn that what I am going through, other women have gone through and no one has all the answers no matter what path you choose. I plan to share this book with all of my girlfriends.

At 20 years old, I am already plagued by those life altering questions such as: where is my artsy boyfriend/why do I not have a loft downtown decorated solely in Italian furniture/is there some logical explanation why there is not a midnight blue Range Rover in my driveway? Self-absorbed and delusional? Yes. Precisely why this collection of essays is for me. Overall the essays where clever and interesting, although they were all written by successful female "chick-lit" authors, and we know their lives turned out just fine, but what about the other struggling cocktail-waitress twenty-somethings out there that now live in a trailer park and are married to a guy named Bubba?

I was in Borders when I stumbled along this book and thought " What a clever title and concept." As a twenty something professional in higher education that deals with early twenty something women on a regular basis, I highly recommend this book. It is a quick read but able to be put down and picked back up easily. There were times when I shook my head in agreement and laughed aloud hysterically.

This book is the perfect antidote to the quarterlife crisis blues. Covering all topics ranging from love relationships to housing to careers to friends, whatever is bothering you, there will be an essay reminding you that yes, your 20s aren't that great, but no, you definitely aren't alone, and the best news: you'll survive, and likely end up far happier and fulfilled than you think you will. Overall, an inspiring read, with little bites of wisdom and perspective.

I really enjoyed the heart felt and brutally honest stories in this book. Being a women in her 20's, this book spoke to me greatly.Every girl should read this at least once while in her twenties or even in her thirties just to have a laugh. I've been the girl in each of these stories and it lets me know- I will survive these years of confusion, frustrations and let-downs.

This book was at times comforting. There are stories about women who are lost and trying to figure life out and find fulfilling careers, friendships, romantic relationships etc. I had a few moments that I could really connect to the people that wrote about their personal experiences, but for the most part it was hard to relate to women who all seemed to live in big cities and come from middle-class families and have college educations (not to mention all of them are writes, although since that's what I want to do, I can relate with that).

I felt like a lot of the stories could have been written by the same person. This book definitely would have been better if it included women with more diverse backgrounds and lifestyles.