I’m sure many of us can agree: your 20s are an emotional roller coaster. You’re constantly second-guessing everything you think you know about the future. Maybe you’re graduating college soon and have no plan for what’s next. Maybe you just started school, and you’re terrified because you have no idea how the next four years will go. Maybe you’ve been out of school for a few years, and you feel stuck, still waiting to find your next big life move.
There’s a reason they’re called the panic years. Your 20s are just a continuous cycle of worrying about making choices and then worrying you made the wrong ones. Social media has created a world where we’re constantly bombarded with nothing but highlight reels of people’s lives, accomplishments, and accolades, which can make your 20s feel lonely, daunting, and confusing.
There’s good news, though! Everybody who was once in their 20s has been where we are now. We have several generations of role models to look up to, who can offer us advice on how to get through the next phase of our lives. The best part is that some of them decided to become writers. A mix of fiction and nonfiction, here are my top books to read if you’re young and just trying to figure out your 20s!
The Midnight Library By Matt Haig
A big fear that many young people have felt — myself included — is that you may not accomplish everything you want in this one life. You’ll never be able to try every career you’ve dreamed of, live in every city that looks fun, or perfect every hobby you’ve briefly been interested in; it’s just not possible.
The Midnight Library perfectly captures this feeling and offers insight into how to deal with it. Long story short: no matter which life you choose, it will be beautiful!
Everything I Know About Love By Dolly Alderton
This memoir is hilarious, devastating, and beautifully written. Everything I Know About Love approaches love and youth in a raw and honest way that will make you laugh, cry, and feel everything in between. It’s written in a way that sounds like advice from a really interesting aunt who wants to impart her wisdom on how to survive a time she’s already lived through.
Carrie Soto Is Back By Taylor Jenkins Reid
Let’s face it: a lot of the time, the world can be hateful towards successful, talented, driven women. Carrie Soto tackles the often misogynistic and ageist hate that female athletes “of a certain age” all face. Carrie Soto Is Back follows a star tennis player, Carrie Soto, struggling with becoming irrelevant at a sport she was once at the very top of.
Against being doubted by nearly everyone, Carrie comes out of retirement to reclaim her title as the best female tennis player in the world. If you’re a young woman who has been told “no,” “you can’t be that,” or “you can’t do this,” then Carrie Soto is Back is worth the read.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone By Lori Gottlieb
Lori Gottlieb, an American writer and psychotherapist, discusses deeply honest and real client stories from the unique perspective of a therapist, using her own therapist. If you’ve ever thought therapists know everything and don’t need help themselves, you’re in for a big surprise with Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. Everyone could use another perspective, especially when going through a lonely and confusing time (like your 20s).
Maybe in Another Life By Taylor Jenkins Reid
If you’ve ever been conflicted between dating two different people, and you wish you could just magically see what your future would look like with both, then this book is for you. As the title suggests, Maybe in Another Life follows Hannah Martin, a 20-something-year-old who has no idea what she’s doing next until she finds her life forging into two different paths; but which way is the right way?
Witty and honest, this book follows Hannah down two different, parallel lives that both stem from one life-changing choice. If you’ve ever worried about making the wrong choice in life, this book is just the insight you need.
You’re 20s are meant to be challenging, stressful, and confusing enough to make you scratch your head and ask yourself, “How did I get here, and where do I want to go next?” Sometimes, all you need is to read about someone else who’s going through the same things as you.
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