Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood

A pioneering psychotherapist tackles the overlooked stage of Quarterlife – the years of adulthood between adolescence and midlife – and provides a guide to navigate it and thrive.

‘I wish I had this guide when I was in my 20s and 30s but even now, it offers me a nuanced perspective on how I am built, how I operate in the world’ Avni Doshi, author of Burnt Sugar

Why do I feel lost? What’s wrong with me? Is this all there is?

Satya Doyle Byock hears these questions regularly in her psychotherapy practice, where she works with Quarterlifers – people between the ages of twenty to forty – who are searching for meaning and direction in their lives. She understands their frustration. Some clients have done everything ‘right’- graduate, get a job, meet a partner – yet they are unfulfilled. Others are still struggling to find their way in the world, and are unclear on what to do next.

Quarterlife offers a compassionate roadmap for finding understanding, happiness, and wholeness in early adulthood. While society is quick to label the struggles of young people as generational traits, Byock sees things differently. She believes these emotions are part of the developmental journey of Quarterlife, a distinct stage that every person goes through, and which has been virtually ignored by psychology and popular culture.

Through the stories of four of her clients, Byock shows us how this search can start with the right questions. Blending personal storytelling with mythology, Jungian psychology with pop culture and literature, Quarterlife pioneers a new way of thinking about adult life, to help us navigate our futures and ourselves.

Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
Imprint: Penguin
Publication date: 18/01/2024