What It Means To Be A Grown-Up: The Complete and Definitive Answer

by Joseph Fink (Editor), Neil Hamburger (Contributor), Kyle Kinane (Contributor)

What does it mean to be a grown-up?

We asked writers, artists, and comedians from all over the country this question that looms over us all.

Their answers came in form of essays, short stories, charts, letters, and at least one picture book from over thirty contributors, including:
* Comedians Neil Hamburger and Kyle Kinane
* The Onion's Nathan Rabin and Greg Rutter.
* Editor of SomethingAwful.com, Zack Parsons.
* Davy Rothbart's long running magazine and website Found Magazine.
* And many more.

Here, finally, is the last word on what it means to be a grown-up. You could spend years of painful experience discovering it, or just read this wildly entertaining book.

The choice is up to you. We recommend the book, though.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Joseph Fink is the creator of the Welcome to Night Vale and Alice Isn't Dead podcasts, and the author of the New York Times bestselling novels Welcome to Night Vale, It Devours!, and The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home (all written with Jeffrey Cranor) and Alice Isn’t Dead. He is also the author of the children’s novel, The Halloween Moon. He and his wife, Meg Bashwiner have written the memoir, The First Ten Years. They live together in the Hudson River Valley.

Reviews

[Rajas Nagpurkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not every story in here works. Some are amateurish. But all of them are raw, personal, and sincere - as they should be when answering such a weighty question. Won't strike a chord with everyone, especially those looking for a more concrete answer to the posed question, or those averse to tongue in cheek artsy fartsyness. This book, i think, is not fartsy. It is artsy, expressive, interpretive, and surprisingly straightforward. I think this book answers it pretty well, and it does so in a very fun way. I found myself laughing much more than wincing at the slivers of raw, incisive emotion. By the end, the book asks you if you are now a grown up. I left my box unchecked, because I'm not sure, and I don't think anyone is ever really sure. But i can confidently say i have a better idea of what it means to be one.