Failure to Launch

Why Your Twentysomething Hasn't Grown Up...and What to Do About It

By: Mark McConville

Narrated by: Stephen Graybill

Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

From an expert in adolescent psychology comes a groundbreaking, timely, and necessary guide for parents of the 2.2 million young adults in America who are struggling to find their way in the world.

In Dr. Mark McConville's decades of experience as a family clinical psychologist, perhaps no problem has been more fraught than that of young adults who fail to successfully transition from adolescence into adulthood. These kids - technically adults - just can't get it together: They can't hold a job, they struggle to develop meaningful relationships, and they often end up back in their parents' spare bedroom or on the couch. In fact, studies show that one in four Americans aged 25 to 34 neither work nor attend school, and it's a problem that spans all socioeconomic and geographic boundaries.

McConville investigates the root causes of this problem: Why are modern kids "failing to launch" in ever-increasing numbers? The key, McConville has found, is that they are struggling with three critical skills that are necessary to make the transition from childhood to adulthood - finding a sense of purpose, developing administrative responsibility, and cultivating interdependence. In Failure to Launch, McConville breaks these down into achievable, accessible goals and offers a practical guide for the whole family, to help parents instill those skills in their young adults - and to get their kids into the real world, ready to start their lives.

©2020 Mark McConville (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"McConville's style is welcoming, and his advice is reassuring. Parents facing these challenges (and there are plenty) will snap this up." (Booklist)

"Mark McConville offers a guilt-free look at why your kid is failing to launch, and explains how to tweak your parent-child interactions so that your kid becomes motivated to slide into the driver's seat of their own life. Empathetic, wise, and frank. Truly a must-read for parents of struggling twentysomethings." (Julie Lythcott-Haims, author of How to Raise an Adult)

"Growing up isn’t what it used to be, says psychologist Mark McConville - and because of that, parents need a new parenting tool-kit to help their kids transition into adulthood with strength, resilience, and grace. The good news: even young people who seem “stuck” can be taught the skills they need to thrive in this important stage of life. Failure to Launch is essential reading for any parent whose child is struggling to find his or her way in the world." (Lori Gottlieb, New York Times best-selling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone)

Thank you

Thank you for your insight! It should be read by both sides of the fence!

Do you know us??

Within the first three minutes of this book it felt as if I was speaking directly to Dr.Conville. His insight and advice into how best to help your “transitioners” is so clear & concise. I will listen to this again w/ my husband as we travel-I need this to become second nature. My only wish is that I had read it many years ago!!

Thank you.

I was looking for a way to make sense of things going on with my 21 year old son. This book was a Godsend. It clarified for me a lot of what he is going through and gave practical shifts for my husband and I to take that can make a difference. I recommend this book to anyone challenged to understand the difficult transition from adolescent to adulthood.

Thought provoking & informative

As a parent struggling to raise two sons who have had issues because of Type 1 Diabetes & Alcohol & drug addiction, this was an excellent book that focuses on the young adult years. Both points of view, ( the parent & the young adult) are explored clearly which is objective & helpful.

Great book that shifted my thinking about my son.

I highly recommend this book. I found it a great turning point for me. I learned to understand my son better and it helped me to learn how to navigate the tricky relationship with my son and myself.

Excellent

This book helped me to understand what is happening with my emerging adult son and identified my role as an enabler along with tools to change how I show up for him. This is a must read for parents who are seeing their college students struggling with being responsible.

Excellent Book!

This book helped me to "remember" some of the ways I struggled as a teen and that was before the age of all the technology.

Alas, some things never change and this book helped me understand my now growing teens and soon enough into adulthood.

Very practical advice

Great book that made me realize I wasn’t alone. Many of the stories resonated with me in many ways. Every parent of a teenager should read it.

Comments from a reader

Amazing! Definitely a must read for people 18 to 40 who want to but are not feeling like an adult and/or feel behind everyone else their age.

Good Book

Good information, makes you think about some different things. Interesting and caring for our transitioners.