Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties [Paperback]

Alexandra Robbins (Author), Abby Wilner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 17, 2001

A startling, insightful, and instructive exploration of the challenges twentysomethings face as they transition from school to "the real world."

While the midlife crisis has been thoroughly explored by experts, there is another landmine period in our adult development, called the quarterlife crisis, which can be just as devastating. When young adults emerge at graduation from almost two decades of schooling, during which each step to take is clearly marked, they encounter an overwhelming number of choices regarding their careers, finances, homes, and social networks. Confronted by an often shattering whirlwind of new responsibilities, new liberties, and new options, they feel helpless, panicked, indecisive, and apprehensive.

Quarterlife Crisis is the first book to document this phenomenon and offer insightful advice on smoothly navigating the challenging transition from childhood to adulthood, from school to the world beyond. It includes the personal stories of more than one hundred twentysomethings who describe their struggles to carve out personal identities; to cope with their fears of failure; to face making choices rather than avoiding them; and to balance all the demanding aspects of personal and professional life. From "What do all my doubts mean?" to "How do I know if the decisions I'm making are right?" this book compellingly addresses the hardest questions facing young adults today.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This addition to the crowded self-help genre claims to document a previously overlooked phase of life: the period between college graduation and one's 30th birthday, when young adults struggle to find their place in the world. While the assertion that this period can be wracked by "crisis" rings true, this attempt by recent college grads Robbins and Wilners to document it falters. Their overall effort, though uplifting, lacks the substantive advice that many people need as they enter adulthood. According to the authors, the difficulty arises when 20-somethings are ejected from the structured academic environment and forced to choose a career, find a home, carve out social niches and manage money (or the lack thereof). This period can indeed be rocky, especially when a young person is told that the world is her oyster and then can't find a satisfying job. In a somewhat self-conscious vernacular, Robbins and Wilner discuss, among other things, spirituality, job-hopping and living with parents. Most of the book's advice lies in lengthy quotes from other 20-somethings an anecdotal overabundance that makes for more of a pastiche than a guidebook. But while the book may not have all the answers for members of generation-Y, it at least provides proof that they're not alone in feeling pressured, depressed or disappointed. Agent, Paula Balzer, Carlisle Agency. (May 21)Forecast: Robbins presented the catchy idea of a pre-midlife crisis in a Mademoiselle article last month, which may help spark sales among this year's crop of college grads.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Although their elders may roll their eyes, twentysomethings will likely find this book useful because it shows that other people their age are struggling with similar issues, such as trying to balance work, pleasure, family, friends, and romance. Robbins and Wilner talked to dozens of twentysomethings, and, for the most part, the authors merely relate their stories rather than trying to offer advice or an easy solution. The individuals they talked to describe the pressure of coming from a relatively stable environment, such as college, and then being flung into a world where they have to worry about finding out exactly what they want to do, land the right job, pay the bills, and still manage to have time for friends and family. But these twentysomethings also tell how getting into the wrong field and even failure helped them find careers in which they could be happy. Although Quarterlife Crisis doesn't contain all the answers that people in their twenties are looking for, it does feature helpful stories they can relate to. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher; 1 edition (May 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585421065
• ISBN-13: 978-1585421060
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (101 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bait-and-Switch Book, February 27, 2003

By 

Sofia Mary Peerson (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties (Paperback)

"Quarterlife Crisis" initially looked to be the watershed title in this nearly empty category through its prerelease press coverage--but has been widely misunderstood since reaching the shelves.

The book was written with the intent to describe a phenomenon rather than write a prescription; authors Robbins and Wilner are clear about that from the outset. Somebody just forgot to tell that to the marketing department over at Tarcher / Putnam (the publisher).

Under the dangerously false impression that "Quarterlife Crisis" is actually going to tell them what to do with their topsy-turvy lives, readers are greedily snatching up this title... And then dejectedly putting it down after realizing that it offers little more than anecdotal confirmation of the problems they are so desperate to solve. As a result, you've got a readership that's had way too much commiseration, and not nearly enough shutting up and getting to work on their problems.

That's why I recommend Michael Ball's "@ the Entry Level: On Survival, Success, & Your Calling as a Young Professional." This is a book that actually holds the reader's hand, and guides them to wherever their heart points. Plus it shows them how to beat the Fortune 500 along the way. THIS is the book twentysomethings thought they were getting with "Quarterlife Crisis."

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great gift for grads, July 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties (Paperback)

I recieved this book in the mail yesterday and couldn't put it down. So many of the chapters accurately described what I've been going through since graduating from college two and a half years ago. I wish I had this book around then to tell me I wasn't crazy for feeling so confused, frustrated and let down (emotions I still feel). I disagree with those that say this book is filled with a bunch of overpriviledged whiners. I worked hard in college, graduated with a bunch of loans, and don't understand why the only thing I'm qualified for is a secretarial position I could have had out of college. It's nice to hear similar tales. It's not about making a bunch of money really fast. It's about finding your place in the world and having the courage to make mistakes that may or may not have an impact in ten years. Add in concerns like money woes, health problems, and a sudden lack of a support system, and life can seem overwhelming. Those are REAL challenges and that's what this books addresses.

My one very big gripe with this book is that it seems to focus only on those that went to college straight from high school and graduated in four years. Not everyone in their twenties fits that description. Furthermore, the book doesn't really offer any solutions (I don't necessarily think that's the authors fault though). This is NOT a "self-help" book. Instead, purchase it if you think you're the only one going through a period of self-doubt and general frustration because you no longer have a road map to tell you what's next.

42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for us in our mid twenties that need to identify, January 10, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties (Paperback)

When I bought this book, the 50+ year old clerk...had the nerve to look down at me and say "How on Earth could a person in their 20s feel they are in a crisis?"

I said, "are you serious? In this day and age, you have to have a degree to work in a library, undergrads don't mean much in this world. Some of us don't have the money to go back and get graduate degrees. PLus, all of our friends and family generally live in many different states and we dont' have enough money to call/visit all the time, and it is very difficult to find other mid twenties people to be friends with to form a support ring, and it is LONELY!"

She just looked at me in disbelief and said, "this is the prime of your life, don't worry, just enjoy it."

Enjoy it? Ya, I am going to enjoy living pay check to pay check while I work at some lame job that SORT OF has to do with my schooling, while I am paying off my school debt...my rent, my car, and wondering how I can achieve my dreams without money. And I'll really enjoy having no friends because they are all scattered across the country,and I have no time to meet people because I work 2 jobs, and my family doesn't "get" why I am so miserable.

I have always refered to this time in my life as my "mid twenties" crisis. Everyone I know that is my age is in the same thing unless they majored in Business or Computer related things and got a dream job right out of college. The rest of us are floating around aimlessly trying to find a niche. An undergrad degree is worthless most of the time, and so we end up in dead end jobs we aren't happy in. We question our dreams, we wonder if we are settling or giving up, or if we should still carry out our dreams, or just let them be "dreams". It is hard to decifer whether or not reality is "giving up" or reality is just plain reality. Then again, you hear about people like Mozart, and Brittney Spears, and Jessie Jackson and other people in this world that acheive their "impossible" dreams... you wonder if it is blind luck on their part, or they just did something we haven't figured out yet.

This book is great to identify with if you are in a similar position, and it is good to know there are SO many others in the same situation. They give a website too for a support group...which is useful.

The authors are not therapists, they don't do a lot of "here is what to do about it", but they do tell a lot of stories about others in our situation, and point the problem out to society so these OLDER people DON'T look like I am crazy when we talk about it!!!