by Eli Rallo
First published 2025
Eli Rallo thought college graduation would deliver the polished adult life she had imagined. Cool job, perfect apartment, amazing friends, exciting dates. Instead, she faces crushing social anxiety and career confusion. She compares herself constantly to the curated lives filling her social media feeds. She questions every decision and wonders if certainty will ever come. Rallo examines the gap between expectation and reality in your twenties. She explores losing close friendships and figuring out your identity. She addresses managing competing priorities and avoiding social media comparison traps. The author shares her own stumbles and the lessons learned along the way. She reveals how early adulthood differs from the glossy portrayals in movies like Sex and the City. This honest look at quarter-life crisis shows readers they are not struggling alone. Rallo combines humor with vulnerability as she navigates the transition to independence. The book offers comfort to anyone who misses the simplicity of college dining halls or wants to call their mom when life feels overwhelming.
Genres: fiction, contemporary, adult, adult-fiction, 21st-century, contemporary-romance, new-adult, new-adult-romance
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking, vulnerable
Tropes: found-family, realistic, self-discovery
304 pages · Hardcover · Harvest
Content warnings: anxiety, depression, mental-illness