Reviews for The Art of Growing Up: Simple Ways to Be Yourself at Last

The average rating for The Art of Growing Up: Simple Ways to Be Yourself at Last based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-07-21 00:00:00 Steven Melton I hate self-help books. They are usually unhelpful and vacuous. I don't want to find joy in emptying the recycle bin on my computer, and I don't want to spend $20 on a book that tells me I should. So I have no idea why I bought "The Art of Growing Up: Simple Ways to be Yourself At Last." Honestly, I have to admit I can't even remember buying it. I've had it for a while. I can't remember if it was a Goodwill used book (Boo to Goodwill for shutting down their local store! Boo! Boo!), a used bookstore book, or a full price book from Indigo. And I don't know what possessed me to pick it up. Was it the provocative calves of the woman on the cover as she walks up the stairs? Doubt it, I'm not much of a leg woman. I think that maybe, because it had the word "Art" in it, I might have thought it was about, you know, art. It isn't. Just saying. Instead. Well instead it was something else. I firmly believe you meet the books you need, just not usually when you need them. So I have no problem buying books I think I might read in a month or a year. It just needs to be the right moment. And apparently, today, while watching the finale of the Tour de France, it was the right day. I am in freaking love with this book. It's a book that writes what I wanted to read at this moment. Recently, I have been mourning the loss of the gay Starbucks. It's still there, but the staff have changed and the mood has changed. It isn't full of gay staff, drag queens and vibrant straight people anymore. Now, it's just a Starbucks. It isn't special. And my favourite pub? So many staff have moved on that it just isn't my favourite anymore. Every time I walk past I think of how I used to enjoy going. Now, it's as special as McDonald's (which, if you haven't figured it out, is not special). And then, this gem from page 13 of the book: "For every object we cast away, for every friend we lose sight of, for every moment in time we can't recoup, and for every place that's no longer what it used to be, we receive in exchange a wealth of keepsake impressions. How strange - no one can ever take away what is no longer ours. The richness of your life will depend on how much you've left behind. Apparently out of mind, every precious impression is in fact stored away in the deep recesses of your brain, kept in much better condition" than the original will ever be again. Right now, that is absolutely freaking brilliant. I want to tell you to buy the book. I want my sisters and cousin and sister in law and friends to buy the book. But I won't tell them or you to buy the book, because I don't know where you are in your life. But if you're reading this review, and if the quote above resonates, then it might be time.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-07-20 00:00:00 Richie Rubin A surprise delight found on the shelf at my Airbnb. Easy to read and hard to forget.