The ABCs of Adulthood: An Alphabet of Life Lessons: Valuable, universal & evergreen advice for burgeoning adults

This book is an extension of the author's viral article which appeared on the site, The Mid. Written when her firstborn left for college, Deb’s advice resonated with parents and the piece was shared widely – more than 100K times before Maria Popova tweeted about it, catapulting it even further. The book is made up of 26 genuine, surprising, and sensible bits of advice, including: B is for Bed Make yours every day, no excuses, end of story, amen. If you think making your bed is a waste of time, that’s your prerogative. However, in a world where almost nothing is within your control, the fact that every morning you can smooth out the creases and wrangle order into the one tiny element of your environment—to which you will be returning later that night—will fill you with the kind of peace and gratitude that will serve as the perfect counterpoise to the chaos of daily life. P is for Play “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation,” said Plato. Play, for an adult, can be just about anything that unleashes your inner child. Moreover, scientists are now finding evidence of its importance to our well-being. Play is critical not only for keeping depression at bay but also for powering our brains to make the kinds of incongruous connections that lead to art, innovation, job success, and personal growth. This is not about competitive sports—though if that frees your child brain, knock yourself out. It’s more about acting goofy: taking an improv class, giggling, ice skating, dancing naked, playing charades, throwing a Frisbee, riding a bike. The list is endless. Add to it.