I am a septuagenarian so the years in my 20s were a long time ago. But they were turbulent years containing career and relationship changes. There were no podcasts back then nor books to help me go through those times.

Sbeg has included a great deal of information to help readers through those formative and often rocky years. The book contains a good combination of personal experiences and results from science. Listening to her podcast will give potential readers a good idea of its content. I do wish this book had been available decades ago.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. Mine is an independent review.

I think this is a book I’ll keep coming back to as I round out the rest of my 20s, also it’s given me a new podcast to dive into while I figure out what’s next for me in this 30-flirty-thriving era in the next couple of years.

Thank you Rodale for an eARC in exchange for an honest review :)

Thank you to Rodale Books and Netgalley for this eARC!

This was such an insightful book about navigating your twenties. As someone who is in her last years of her twenties, I found myself wishing I had this book at 22 or 23. The uncertainty we face at that age about "where do I fit" is so overwhelming and this gave such bigger picture of the psychology behind all of it. Definitely recommend if you're struggling with that!

The first few chapters definitely felt like they were slapping me in the face, so uh, rude. Most of the sections after that felt more like a review though, so if you have been through therapy a few times, the book may feel less helpful. The book is arranged into 4 big sections (Quarter Life Crisis, Love, Work, and Healing) and each section is broken into 4 or more chapters, each dealing with a specific layer of the section. Most chapters are broken into shorter sections as well. This makes it easy to find sections that could be helpful if you only want to read about specific issues. Each chapter/section ended with 2-5 short bullet points that summed up the most important part of that section/ an action plan to move forward. Very helpful, especially if you are like me and struggle to identify the key takeaways in big blocks of text.
I would recommend this book to anyone that is struggling with finding their sense of identity or figuring out what they want to do in life, especially in/after college.
I was slightly annoyed by some inconsistencies in the spacing of the text, but believe this may just be an arc issue.

Reading this will help to validate the insanity that is your 20s. At 29, I’m having a hard time accepting the end of this era. Because guess what, I still don’t have it all figured out, life is still a mess. Hopefully if you’re just entering this decade of life, Person in Progress, will be prep work in handling its chaos. There’s a lot of basic advice given but that’s because those statements hold truths. And all of it is like a hug from someone going through the same things. Overall, this left me feeling positive, when many “self-help books” tend to just piss me off.

I wish I had read this in my earlier 20s! It feels like the familiar existential debriefs you have in college with a friend over chips and salsa at a restaurant: what the hell are we doing with our lives?

There is a suffocating amount of pressure you experience in your early 20s, where you feel utterly lost and like everyone has it figured out except you, yet everyone is telling you that you're supposed to be having the best years of your life. Sbeg reassures you that's not the case. Everyone feels exactly as you do; nobody has it figured out. More conversational and geared towards the current online generation than Meg Jay's "The Defining Decade," but very similar in messaging and equally as helpful with the self-guided prompts. I do think it focuses on Sbeg's audience of a specific type of 20-something (starting college, being in college, or just graduated and are job-hunting, or those in the shackles of situationships, unsatisfied relationships, or single) and won't be applicable to everyone in their 20s.

It would make a great gift for someone who has recently gone off to college or is graduating from college. It didn't feel as relatable to me now, but it's the kind of book I would've read when I was 20 or 21!

Thank you Penguin Random House, Rodale Books, and NetGalley for the ARC!

I really liked this book! It was the perfect book for anyone in their twenties, or heck, probably even anyone in their thirties. It was an easy read too and had so much good information in it.

I've followed Jemma Sbeg's podcast, The Psychology of Your 20s, for a couple of years now, and wow—she’s just as excellent as an author! Even though I'm in my 30s, this is a book I’ll keep with me and revisit as different situations arise in my life. Jemma is incredibly knowledgeable and backs up her insights with research. She puts a name to so many things I’m currently experiencing—or have experienced—in adulthood and helps me reflect on them in a deeper way. The chapters on taking risks, friendships, imposter syndrome, and our inner child really spoke to me! I only wish I’d had this book (and her podcast) in my 20s. I recommend it to anyone, no matter what decade of life you're in.

The book starts off well, with straightforward and common-sense advice. It serves as a gentle reminder about personal growth and progress. The beautiful message in the first part is that when you're feeling lost, you should embrace risk and become the "main character" of your own mid-life or quarter-life crisis. This section focuses on self-development during times of uncertainty.

In the second section, which discusses relationships, I was struck by the content before even finishing the first chapter. The realistic advice resonated deeply with me. The key message was simple yet powerful: in any relationship—whether platonic or romantic—both parties must invest equal energy!

The third section focuses on building self-esteem and preventing self-sabotage. This uplifting chapter helps readers recognize their worth. I learned that it's important to stop questioning your abilities and other positive qualities about yourself. The book provides step-by-step guidance for self-improvement. When it comes to setting boundaries as part of personal growth, implementation can be challenging. Sometimes practical realities—like needing to pay bills—force us to compromise. The effectiveness of boundary-setting varies by situation, but the book's advice offers valuable strategies you can apply when circumstances allow.

Lastly, the fourth section's first three chapters feel redundant and overly long. This section attempts to cover developmental stages from early childhood through adulthood, but presents too much information in a less straightforward way than previous sections. Based on experiences during different developmental stages, the content is informative but not as focused as earlier parts of the book. As noted, this final section dragged on.

Overall, this was such a great book. I would definitely recommend this to everyone. It’s so hard to find a good self-help books and so far Atomic Habits and this book hit me so hard. I think this one resonates with me most as I am ending my 20s soon and the my mindset was mostly in this book. Honestly, if you feel lost at the moment with your life or need a new perspective this is a perfect book to read.

As someone who is in their early twenties, this was definitely a helpful and insightful read! Being a twenty year old is filled with confusion, uncertainty, and anxiety. The tips Jemma gave were realistic and could be used on a daily basis. It could be somewhat repetitive or obvious at times, but it’s nice to hear these ideas in the form of a rule book. Kind of like the do’s and don’ts as a person trying to figure their life out. I think Person In Progress can help many young people.

Jemma Sbeg, creator of The Psychology of Your 20s podcast, offers research-backed advice, personal stories, and reflection prompts to help you navigate the chaos of your twenties. From overcoming imposter syndrome to reframing career choices and healing from heartbreak, this relatable, empowering guide helps you embrace mistakes, growth, and the unknown.

I'm actually not familiar with her podcast (though I'm curious to check it out now), but I wanted to see what new advice was out there for navigating this special decade. I'm 29, so I didn’t really go into this looking for advice for myself; I went into it hoping to glean greater insight and guidance for the young adults I pastor. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of research presented. This isn’t Jemma’s personal dissertation or anything—she’s simply sharing others’ research she’s found useful and explaining it all through the lens of her personal stories. That being said, there’s limited scope because her experience is that of a single, college-educated, career focused twenty-something without kids.

I think I would have learned and appreciated this the most if it was my first year post-college. That’s primarily who I’d say it’s designed for and who will benefit from it. And maybe that’s my problem—I went in assuming this “wasn’t for me,” so I missed out on some parts I still could have learned from. A great reminder for us to always enter a book open to learning, even if we’re not the primary audience. I know I could have learned more personally. Though I don't agree with some of the conclusions she reaches (particularly her opinions on what teens should be free to experience), the research throughout is well worth the read.

I breezed through the audio—partly because it’s evident she’s a gifted podcaster, and partly because of her fun Australian accent (gotta love a girl who pronounces z(ed) correctly 😉). Definitely recommend this format!

Perfect for you if you like:
Learning from mistakes instead of fearing them
Personal stories blended with psychology

Similar to:
The Hard Twenty-Somethings by O. Brent Dongell (my professor and friend)
The Defining Decade by Meg Jay (I have not read)
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

⚠️explicit language (infrequent)

I absolutely loved this book! It was filled with so much good advice that I honestly wish I would have had in my early 20s to help navigate college and finding out who I was as a person. I thought the little exercise throughout the chapters were very helpful and a very good idea. I won’t be able to recommend this book enough.

I have never read a self help book, but I did decide to pick this one up.

As a 23-year-old, I felt like Person in Progress could apply to some of the things I'm currently facing in my life. Jemma Sbeg covers 4 key subjects that people in their 20s typically face, and provides insightful advice on how to cope with the turbulence we experience at this point in our lives. Although this isn't my typical read, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It made me sit back and reflect on my experiences, how they have made me who I am, and gave me inspiration to work on some things.

I loved how this was set up as well. The book is broken up into 4 subjects that include subtopics as different chapters. It made the book flow and easy to comprehend. Each chapter also ends with a set of summary statements which I found to be helpful and impactful. In fact, many of my highlights came from these statements. There are a few topics that I found to be heavy for myself which caused me to pause for a break or skim through parts of the book. The summary statements were a great reminder of what I should be taking away from each chapter.

Overall, this was a great, quick read!

✨ARC REVIEW✨

Thank you so much to Rodale books for the gifted eARC of this title! 🫶🏻

✨ @wellenough #partner

🤍Person In Progress: A Roadmap to the Psychology of Your 20s
✨by Jemma Sbeg
🤍Available April 29th!

This book was my first non-fiction read of the year and it did not disappoint! Being an adult in your 20s can sometimes be a tough thing to navigate. You’re no longer that same teenager that you once were with all of your goals planned out as a certain “roadmap” of life.

🤍As a woman in my 20s, I absolutely loved how this book touched on those topics while also covering important insights into our lives and the way that our brain works.

✨Jemma has such a special gift of being able to describe what it’s like being a new adult onto the page and really allows us a whole new perspective of figuring out different ways to navigate this new chapter.

🤍This book covers so many different topics, emotions, and stages of our lives as well as has a wonderful collection of quotes that had me annotating on my kindle!

✨Thank you @jemmasbeg for writing this story and for hosting your Podcast! You definitely have a new reader AND listener in me. 🫶🏻🤍

*I received a gifted copy of this title and am leaving this review voluntarily. Opinions are my own.*

I think this is a great book for all but especially those of us in our 20s. The writing is all rooted in psychology and I found myself reviewing some things I learned in my university psychology courses and learning some new concepts too.

I've been listening to this podcast for a while now and have recommended it to multiple friends and I was ecstatic when I saw this book waiting for me in my email inbox. In the start of the book, the author Jemma Sbeg listing every period of life as a season of television. My friends and I always bring up how in the first season of Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw is only 32-years-old so I loved this passage immediately. As someone who is traversing through their 20s currently, this podcast and book have helped me do a lot of reflection that I needed to force myself to have. I'm still finishing my undergraduate degree and living in my hometown; this book helps you come into your next stage of life and that is exactly what I am looking for. I don't think this book is limited to people in their 20s or 30s though; I think anyone who is looking for a change or deeper reflection would get something out of it.

This is the perfect guide to being in your 20s. I didn’t even really relate to the first half of this book, but I still loved it! It says in the intro that everyone has different experiences in their 20s and they won’t relate to every topic. Even still, the topics I did relate to blew me away.
This book helped me realize that I’m actually not alone in the struggles I face as a young adult. The topics I enjoyed the most were about trying to find your identity in your career and navigating mental health. I loved that this book supplies examples of things you can do to improve such as journaling and making lists of what is important to you.
Another thing I liked about this book is the bolding and lists at the end that really drive the main topics. It makes it easy to annotate and come back to for later which is perfect. This was my first time reading a self help book, and I genuinely enjoyed it. I will definitely apply the information to my life moving forward!

Some parts were helpful and felt relevant—especially the section on things to do every day for a full life. But overall, it started to feel repetitive. If you’re really into psychology, you might get more out of it, but it didn’t fully land for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House, and Rodale Books for the ARC!

3.5🌟🌟🌟💫

This book was good, just not really my cup of tea. Certain parts of it I enjoyed and felt as though they were applicable to my life, but other sections i found to be increasingly repetitive and they did not seem to provide practical advice. Overall, I can see the appeal of this book for people who are interested in psychology specifically, but it may not be for everyone in their 20s.

The author of this book is also the host of a podcast I’ve been following since its inception. Listening to every new episode on the day of release has become a part of my lifestyle and a cherished part of my world. Reading the book was a delightful experience because I could hear Jemma’s voice as if she were right there with me, making the reading experience deeply personal and relatable. Having been a part of her podcast community, I felt as though I was revisiting shared experiences and understanding her insights on a deeper level.

Reading this book felt like enjoying a comforting cup of tea on a rainy day with a friend, discussing real life and the endless possibilities the future holds. It was refreshing to have a blend of strong advice and heartfelt support that made me feel seen and reassured, reminding me that my doubts and fears are valid but not insurmountable. Life is okay, and I’m doing okay. Thanks Jemma, you are a light.