REVIEWING The Rocket Years: How Your Twenties Launch the rest of your life BY Elizabeth Segran

INT. CHICAGO O’HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (TERMINAL 3) - DAY

I’m in my mid-twentysomethings. I’m single. I have a college degree. I’ve moved out of my parents’ house to a new city; a fresh metropolitan area buzzing with opportunity for ambitious young professionals like myself. Certainly, I’m on my way to the destined success that I’ve always envisioned for myself! However, I have no idea how I’m going to get there. And as the everlasting advisory that my strategic management professor from senior year kindly drilled into the bonus point bandit test taker in me goes: “you’ll never get to where you’re going if you don’t know how you’re going to get there”.

Alas, conflict! But . . . I’m not a screenwriter (yet) . . . and . . . despite how strongly I may disagree at times, my life is not a motion picture (yet). Each evening, I return to some form of aloneness to assume my position at an extensive dinner table joined by my many questions and my many ideas. Across from them sit my many hopes and my many desires. All wanting to be satisfied just as much as the other, analogically speaking, I’m responsible for putting food on the table.

ENTER: Elizabeth Segran PhD, wife, mother, writer, and author of The Rocket Years: How Your Twenties Launch the Rest of Your Life; the glitter and gold of an enchiridion that I was fortunate enough to discover just moments prior to the flight attendant’s command to stow my laptop and carry on items.

This self-help book packs heaps of meaningful shares from the author. The Rocket Years resembles the literary matrimony between critical data points and holistic outlooks particularly regarding millennials and their ability to create and live the life that they want. Fret not, this book is just as significant to readers that don’t fall into the twentysomething-year-old age group. As Elizabeth Segran constantly advocates: it’s never too late to correct a course! Within these roughly two hundred pages, there are countless points of connection for readers whether they need a complete reroute, or whispers of encouragement.

The structure of the book is essentially an organization of themes collected around major facets of life. The first major facet is work-life balance, the second is building a life-long network of love and support, and the third is establishing enduring ties to broader communities. I know, heavy, right? Once again, fret not! Segran writes to us in a genuinely empowering voice laced with the comforting nuances of her ever so distinctive humor. Page flip after page flip, amazing discovery after amazing discovery, confidence boost after confidence boost, whenever I looked up from this book in my hands, there with me I sensed Liz Segran grinning and nodding; passing onto me trustworthy comfort and affirmation.

A TED Talk at my fingertips, The Rocket Years proved to be everything that I imagined it would be and more. Through the framework of her personal stories and experiences, Segran engineered a means to navigate the roadways of challenge and uncertainty in our respective rocket years. Supported by bundles of credible data, she arms readers with confidence, knowledge and ultimately the power to make sound decisions in order to write their own story.

Particularly encouraging for readers is the author’s explicit acknowledgment that data cannot capture every detail in every one person’s life. Ergo my overflow of appreciation for the personal insights Segran shares in this book; it undoubtedly humanizes the reading and learning experience. As Segran puts it: “My story serves as a cautionary tale”. In addition, this read does not discriminate against race, culture, sexual preference, or religious practice.

Intriguing, amusing, compelling, and relevant, The Rocket Years kept a smile on my face through and through. Be it murky waters or open roads, I’m not only more prepared to navigate the map of my future, but I’m also confident that I have what it takes to write the narrative and live the life that I want.