Coming of Age in a Crap Economy

Coming of Age in a Crap Economy by Liz Funk

Allison: I thought this book was definitely well researched and inspiring. I loved that Liz interviewed post grads with a wide range of backgrounds and ambitions, while mixing in the opinions of other professionals and the history of how our economic situation has come to exist. Instead of speaking down to recent graduates as many articles in popular media today seem to do, this book had an encouraging tone and left me feeling like there is a lot more in my post grad life that I could be accomplishing.

My only criticism of the book is that the sheer amount of interviews (while all extremely interesting) can sometimes be overwhelming to read. As I think back to the book, it's hard for me to pick one interview that stood out because there were so many.

That being said, I still believe the book is an inspiring read and I look forward to the second book in the series!

4/5 stars

Shikole: Coming of Age in a Crap Economy is the book equivalent of an anthem for our generation. Liz mentions that our generation is one of the few that doesn't have a World War to bond over or define us. The economic struggle is our World War. There are very few post grads that are not affected by it. The effect of the economy on our lifestyles, outlooks and success is universal.

One of the things I liked best about this book is references Liz made to so many aspects of pop culture. Pop culture IS generation Y. How do we deal with losing our jobs? We watch television shows like Dexter to try and remember that other people's lives might be worse. Our struggles are even being used in pop culture as a theme. There was a movie released in 2009 aptly titled "Post Grad" that almost every one of us can relate to. I still haven't decided if seeing post grad struggles on screen makes me feel better or worse about it.

I agree with Allison that the amount of interviews gets overwhelming. I would have loved to have seen a case study or two instead that delved deeper into a post grad story. Obviously other interviews would have been needed to prove some points, but the only interview I can remember after reading is Caitlin's. And I only remember hers because we share an alma mater.

I think the best thing you can take from this book is that we, as a generation and as individuals, need to re-work the equation we thought equalled success. Behind the struggle, the failure, the rejection and even the optimism, is the bottom line: Post Grads in today's economy have to do it differently.

Rating: 3.8/5

We will be giving away a copy of Liz's book "Coming of Age in a Crap Economy" on Friday so be sure to come back to enter!