“Our “thirty-is-the-new-twenty” culture tells us the twentysomething years don’t matter. Some say they are a second adolescence. Others call them an emerging adulthood. Dr. Meg Jay, a clinical psychologist, argues that twentysomethings have been caught in a swirl of hype and misinformation, much of which has trivialized what is actually the most defining decade of adulthood. Drawing from a decade of work with hundreds of twentysomething clients and students, THE DEFINING DECADEweaves the latest science of the twentysomething years with behind-closed-doors stories from twentysomethings themselves. The result is a provocative read that provides the tools necessary to make the most of your twenties, and shows us how work, relationships, personality, social networks, identity, and even the brain can change more during this decade than at any other time in adulthood-if we use the time wisely.”

–Good Reads Summery

When I first picked this one up I decided that I probably wouldn’t review it, then as I started reading I decided I should post it with some stupid disclaimer about how I “don’t usually read self-help books.” But now that I’ve finished it, I feel like I should state: If this is what self -help or self-improvement books are all like, then I should read one a week.

It might be pretty typical to not want to claim that you’re reading books about how to take control of your life at twenty-two, but it’s also typical not to take control of your life at all when you are in your twenties, and that’s a big problem.

The fact is our twenties are important, and while I’ve never doubted it as much of some of the people in these pages, I still sometime do that typical brush off “I’m still young, I have time.” I am young, I do have time, but this time matters. And it does for more reasons then we think. This book dives into how the twentysomethings bairn is still forming, about how we should look at relationships with friends, family, and lovers. It talks about getting real with careers and how our expectations are either way to low or way to high.

This book is real, it’s raw, there were a few things I related to so much in it that I literally had tears brimming my eyes. And the best part is, it’s told through someone who is not only older, but talks to millions of twentysomethings regularly. It’s not a disconnected adult lecturing you. It’s honest, it covers what some of the reviewers called “the things I wish someone had told me in my twenties.”

These years are a huge part of our lives- She statistically tells you about all the things that come into play with twentysomethings. It’s alarming, it’s inspiring, an if you aren’t planning to put it in your shopping cart right now on Amazon, you need to.

I rate this book five out of five stars.