Do you ever wish that your teen could have a mentor, auntie, or trusted guide?
Someone that would sit down with them and patiently explain how the world works, how to find meaningful employment, and how to be independent?
A person who genuinely loves and cares for them, encourages them and also gently pushes them forward?
I’ve wished for this for our 17-year old daughter Alana.
And, in a way, she’s found a mentor… in a brand new book called Your Turn: How to Be an Adult by Julie Lythcott-Haims.
Recently Alana and I sat down with Julie–former Stanford Dean and author of How to Raise an Adult–to talk to her about her new book.
Alana describes Your Turn as “a step-by-step guide to build a life that you are happy with”.
Julie wrote it for 18 to 35-year-olds. And Alana absolutely loved it!
Julie covers many topics that are important and relevant to our kids like:
- How to let go of perfectionism and stop pleasing others
- How to make money, keep it, and make it work for you
- How to care for yourself and cope when the $*!# hits the fan
- How to make things better for other people
She shares many stories from young people of diverse backgrounds, showing how they overcame setbacks to create meaningful lives for themselves.
As a Black, biracial, and queer person herself, Julie knows what it’s like to not “see yourself” represented in a book. Julie was committed to interviewing and gathering stories from a wide range of people so that her readers could find themselves, and even have more empathy for others who may be struggling in some of the same ways.
When Alana and I talked with Julie, she asked how people can get the courage to move forward in their life to take a big leap, when they’re feeling scared.
Here’s what Julie said about how to be courageous, how to listen to yourself and get out of your comfort zone. Julie also talked about an interesting thing that happens for a lot of people around age 14… but you’ll have to watch the video to get the whole story.
And if you have a teen or young person in your life who could use a little “adulting” support from a warm, funny, wise, and encouraging person I cannot recommend Julie’s book enough.
She’s an auntie, trusted guide, and mentor all rolled into one.
Resources:
Your Turn: How to Be an Adult is the perfect gift for a high school or college grad, or any young person trying to find their way in this complicated world of ours.
Get the full interview in The Village by Happily Family.
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