How to Be an Adult

Living life as a happy, mature adult does not always come easily to all of us. In this best-selling work, David Richo conveys to his readers just how to do this, based on his many years' experience as a psychotherapist and workshop leader. The author uses as a model the heroic journey whose three phases-departure, struggle, and return-explain what happens in us as we evolve from neurotic ego through healthy ego to the spiritual Self. Departure is explored by helping the reader deal with fear, anger, and guilt, and building self-esteem. Through struggle one learns to maintain boundaries and build intimacy in relationships. And the result is a return to wholeness and love through integration. This thoughtful, approachable work is filled with checklists, diagrams, and literary quotations for meditation, making this a book to read and digest a little at a time for best results. How to Be an Adult will guide readers on their positive journey from fear, through power, to love.

Living life as a happy, mature adult does not always come easily to all of us. In this best-selling work, David Richo conveys to his readers just how to do this, based on his many years' experience as a psychotherapist and workshop leader. The author uses as a model the heroic journey whose three phases-departure, struggle, and return-explain what happens in us as we evolve from neurotic ego through healthy ego to the spiritual Self. Departure is explored by helping the reader deal with fear, anger, and guilt, and building self-esteem. Through struggle one learns to maintain boundaries and build intimacy in relationships. And the result is a return to wholeness and love through integration. This thoughtful, approachable work is filled with checklists, diagrams, and literary quotations for meditation, making this a book to read and digest a little at a time for best results. How to Be an Adult will guide readers on their positive journey from fear, through power, to love.

THE TOP 10 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Ann Russell has all the answers' Sunday Times ' An agony aunt to an audience of millions' BBC From the much-loved 'Auntie' of TikTok, and author of How to Clean Everything and How to Save Money , How to Be an Adult is a practical guide to life - full of the things you should have been taught in school, but probably weren't. This book takes you through everything from the everyday to the unexpected, the practical to the personal. Whether you're learning how to budget, rent a flat, deal with a break-up, or cope with grief - or even just figuring out how to change a plug - Ann Russell is here to help. Written with warmth and years of experience, no one should leave home for the first time without this book. * Sunday Times bestseller 7th September 2025

THE TOP 10 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Ann Russell has all the answers' Sunday Times ' An agony aunt to an audience of millions' BBC From the much-loved 'Auntie' of TikTok, and author of How to Clean Everything and How to Save Money , How to Be an Adult is a practical guide to life - full of the things you should have been taught in school, but probably weren't. This book takes you through everything from the everyday to the unexpected, the practical to the personal. Whether you're learning how to budget, rent a flat, deal with a break-up, or cope with grief - or even just figuring out how to change a plug - Ann Russell is here to help. Written with warmth and years of experience, no one should leave home for the first time without this book. * Sunday Times bestseller 7th September 2025