5 Books You Need To Read In Your 20s

Whether you think you have your life together or not, here are my top 5 self-help & self-improvement books I recommend you read in your 20s; each full of endless notes of empowerment, wisdom, lessons, guidance & inspiration.

The messages found in each of these books will stay with you long after the last page.

*(BTW, these books are listed in no particular order whatsoever.)*

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

This is an all-time inspirational book that I think every woman in their 20s should read. Rubin finds a way to motivate you to succeed in life all while being the happiest you’ve ever been.

The Happiness Project is centered around Rubin’s year-long attempt to discover & find her true contentment; even in times of difficulty. She does a remarkable job at answering all of our agonizing questions about both feeling & being genuinely happy.

“Time is passing, and I’m not focusing enough on the things that really matter”, says Rubin; marking the defining moment she decided to dedicate a year of her life to her “happiness project”.

Who knows, maybe this book will inspire you to dedicate a year of your life to your own happiness project.
Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Untamed reads like a self-help book; the type of book that you never knew you needed to read until you actually read it. The author, Glennon Doyle, shares her experiences in following a path that seemed both “right” & “appropriate” based on her upbringing and adolescent conditioning. She starts with a story of a cheetah that serves as a metaphor throughout the book. She shares stories in which women are conditioned to be “tamed” and “caged” from their youth & the impact it has on us as we grow older.

“To be brave is to forsake all others to be true to yourself” & “being human is not hard because you’re doing it wrong, it’s hard because you’re doing it right”; because you’re doing what society excepts of you rather than remaining true to yourself, Doyle says.

This book is RAW. You feel as if you’re talking to a girl friend while reading it. It’s eye-opening in the best ways. This book inspired me to dig deeper into my life and reflect back on the path that led me to where I am today. Is this where I’m supposed to be? Is this where YOU’RE supposed to be?! After all, “all the things that make a woman human are a good girl’s dirty secret”, Doyle writes.
The Defining Decade by Meg Jay

This book helped give me a lot of perspective. Meg Jay does an excellent job at explaining why your 20s have such a vital impact on your life. The patterns you develop, the experiences you gain, and the moves you make towards both your career & personal life follow you through the rest of your life. Jay uses science and real-life stories to argue how & why our personalities, relationships, and identities can change more in our 20s than at any other time in our lives; serving as an essential guide on how to turn this decade of our life into the years that’ll get us to where we want to be.
Dear Madam President: An Open Letter To The Women Who Will Run The World by Jennifer Palmieri

The author, Jennifer Palmieri served as the Communications Director under Hillary Clinton. She wrote this book as an empowering open to letter to all women, especially to the first future female president of our country, who is/are determined to seize control of their lives, their workplaces, and their country. Palmieri created a framework of inspirational and practical advice to all women in or seeking leadership in their field. Although this book is tailored towards the female audience, I challenge the male audience to read it and try to understand it from the female perspective.
The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Change The World by Melinda Gates

The Moment of Lift: a message about how lifting women and children, especially young girls, SHAKES THE WORLD (in the best way possible, of course)!!!

Melinda Gates has spent the last two decades of her lift working on combating some of the greatest challenges in global health. She brings light to issues of inequality faced amongst some of the most marginalized populations in the world, while simultaneously sharing stories of the extraordinary people she has crossed paths with along the way.

She her own story of being a daughter, student, wife, and mother & how the influence of her power has had on empowering young girls and women in developing nations.

She hopes to encourage her readers who have the power to make their own choices to pay it forward in their own communities; because throughout her decades of work she has learned that when societies allow women more power, it translates into better communities for all. Think about it, “sometimes all that’s needed to lift women up is to stop pulling them down”, says Gates.