Failure to Launch Audiobook By Mark McConville Ph.D. cover art

Failure to Launch

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

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Failure to Launch

By: Mark McConville Ph.D.
Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
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About this listen

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
Parenting & Families Parents & Adult Children Personal Development Personal Success Parenting Young Adults

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)

What listeners say about Failure to Launch

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Great book for introducing problem.

I will continue with this study. My problem took years to develop and it will probably take years to resolve. I will be searching for more answers. This book sure changed my thinking about my "failure to launch" adult.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Don’t let the title scare you off

This book has great advice and insight into young adults, whether yours is in your basement playing video games or struggles with certain aspects of “adulting.” Without judgment or preaching, the author lets you know what’s going on inside that young adult’s mind and how to help.

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Relevant to what we are experiencing

There were so many similarities identified in the book that we are experiencing with our 21 year old son. the book helped my husband and I understand his situation and make adjustments in our understanding and rules we needed to create. highly recommend. we are still waiting for our son to Launch, but now celebrate small changes he is making to get him moving in the right direction. We had to stop nagging him and let him figure it out, that is the hardest and most frustrating change we had to make.

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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.

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Good Book

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

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Fantastic

Everything I didn’t realize all in one very helpful place. I am so grateful to have found this book.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Extremely helpful

I highly recommend this book if you are struggling with a young adult’s poor attitude and refusal to ‘grow up’. This book made me feel understood and provided concrete steps I can take to make the situation better. It also gave me a window into what my young adult is thinking. Priceless.

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