the defining decade – Treat Your S[h]elf

Nonfiction
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

What I appreciated most about this book was its reminder that every day counts toward your future and even if you don’t have a ‘plan’ for your life, it can’t hurt to make a move, take a step, and see where it takes you. Jay talks about how your twenties can hugely impact your future in terms of earning potential, career success, and romantic life. However, I think it’s important to take this with a grain of salt. It’s not impossible to grow in these areas and change your life for the better once your twenties are over.

Most of the case studies of Jay’s clients completely glossed over the difficult realities that many people face when they feel stuck in their twenties. She frames them like people who are working jobs that aren’t going anywhere simply haven’t tried to find anything else, which is demoralizing for anyone who has struggled submitting hundreds of job applications that go nowhere.

This book is a good reminder to be intentional with the way you are setting yourself up for your future while you’re in your twenties, which for some people, is enough of a reminder to kickstart them into action. However, it’s limited to a certain type of privileged audience and paints too urgent of a picture, in my opinion, for everything someone needs to have accomplished before thirty in order to have a great life.

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