Books for a Quarter Life Crisis
When experiencing a quarter-life crisis, stop, drop, and read.
Happy Sunday! In this newsletter, you’ll discover:
✍🏼What is a quarter-life crisis?
🫖The truth about my quarter-life crisis
✨Books if you’re experiencing one too
📖What is a Quarter Life Crisis?
A quarter-life crisis is a period in your 20s when you question everything, especially your life path.
Since graduating college, the majority of my 20s have been a crisis. I’m unsure what I’m supposed to be doing, my “dream” career seems to be getting less clear, and everyone around me is doing different things.
My specific quarter-life crisis has consisted of:
More mental breakdowns and panic attacks than I care to admit
Constantly researching grad schools and other career paths
Doom scrolling TikTok
Lots of “manifestation practices” and asking the universe for signs
Traveling to every continent except Antarctica
Questioning if I’m making the right life decisions almost daily
In this messy period of my mid-20s, two things have brought me great comfort.
The first is a simple truth: no one has it figured out. So many people I look up to also feel this exact same way.
Even if it doesn’t always feel like it, life is going well. And your life is probably going better than you give yourself credit for too.
The other is reading the experiences of others who are lost and find themselves in their 20s. In case anyone else is feeling a bit lost in life, I wanted to share some comforting reads about the messiness of life.
🫖Exisential Crisis Book Recs
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Posten (contemporary/magical realism)
A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin (regency era romance)
Normal People by Sally Rooney (literary/contemporary)
Elektra by Jennifer Smith (ancient Greece myth retelling)
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (historical fiction)
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera (near future sci-fi)
The Grace Year by Kim Leggit (dystopian)
😎Books I want to read about being in your 20s
These books are on my TBR, but I haven’t gotten to them yet.
Original Material by Dolly Alderton
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellars
Rogue by Mona Awad
The Rachel Incident by Carolina O’Donoghue
Reply to this email with your thoughts on any you’ve read!
⚡️Next on…
In honor of the new Briderton season, I’ll be sharing my fav regency era book recs.
About Angela
Angela Myers is a health and health tech writer, entrepreneur, and American expat living in Spain. Her work has appeared in outlets like Forbes and Healthline, among others. She’s also working on a dark academia fantasy novel.
When not writing, Angela can be found talking about books, exploring European art museums, or attempting NOT to read past her bedtime. The latter usually involves bribes of ice cream or croissants.