Arnett, the world's leading authority on emerging adulthood - that stage of life between 18-29 when a child is not still a young adult nor yet quite a stand-alone adult - joins up with family/relationship writer Elizabeth Fishel for a book that will finally tell parents of 20-something children what's going on...and what they should be doing about it. Arnett's and Fishel's point-of-view is direct, honest, but up-beat; research shows that taking time between adolescence and adulthood to "launch, explore, and land" is a good thing, almost always resulting in happier, more successful adults. But they also realize that parents, whose own path to adulthood was often very different, need guidance: What happened to graduating from college in four years? When did the Bank of Mum and Dad open for? Business? You're looking for a new job...again? I'm fine with straight or gay, but I don't even know what "questioning" means. Did you just say you're moving back home? What about grandchildren? I want to stay in touch as much as the next person, but should we be texting 10 times a day? When is it time to worry?
To sum up Arnett's and Fishel's advice: Parents need to move in a parallel plane with their kids, striking a delicate balance between stepping back and staying connected - always mindful of their own needs as they, too, move through the significant transitional stage of middle age and beyond.
Author Biography
Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, Ph.D., coined the term "emerging adulthood" and wrote the classic book on this life stage, Emerging Adulthood. He is a research professor in the Department of Psychology at Clark University and executive director of the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood. He lives in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Elizabeth Fishel is the author of Sisters, Reunion, I Swore I'd Never Do That, and The Men in Our Lives, and a journalist who has written for Vogue, O, Good Housekeeping, Parents, More, Family Circle, and other magazines and newspapers. She lives in Oakland, California, and is the mother of two 20-somethings.
