To find good answers, we must first ask good questions. I believe there’s nothing more powerful and important in our twenties than the questions we bring to it.”

And so Paul Angone introduces the purpose and reason for his new book, 101 Questions You Need to Ask in Your Twenties (And Let’s Be Honest, Your Thirties Too).

Contrary to what the title says, Angone’s book shouldn’t just be for 20- and 30-somethings. There’s too much knowledge, humor, information and insight within these pages to reserve it for those age groups alone.

Angone divides the material into four categories: Adulting to Win, Careerish, Relationshipping, and Signature Sauce. He covers a variety of important topics, including defining your soul values, what a successful career looks like, building and maintaining relationships, combating fear and anxiety, and how to “live on purpose with purpose for a purpose.”

Questions such as these promote serious introspection:

• What would my life look like if I were OK just being me?
• Am I going through my day mindful or mindless?
• What are my top three nonnegotiables in life and work?

However, the common thread throughout the book is that your 20s are not about things going as planned but about how you adapt and overcome when they don’t. And if this idea stresses anyone out, Angone reassures readers that “few people can honestly say that every aspect of their adult life feels significant or is working out like they planned.”

“It’s time to live life like you mean it because the world needs the story you bring.” — Paul Angone

He doesn’t just leave us hanging with that statement, though. As readers explore the 101 relevant questions that many of us think about but may not want to discuss, there are real, practical pieces of advice and solutions, and encouragement sprinkled with biblical truth.

Angone effectively weaves his sense of humor into his writing, and he vulnerably shares his personal experiences while encouraging readers to be intentional in their thinking and answers.

Beyond the intended young adult audience, this book would also be beneficial for youth pastors, leaders and even parents to read as they help teens and young adults transition into this season of life and successfully navigate it.

How to see past immediate setbacks and successes, the importance of forming relationships before you need them, and evaluating whether you are dreaming big and being faithful in the small things are subjects leaders can (and should) discuss with the young adults in their spheres of influence.

Fortunately, this book is not a one-and-done read. Rather, Angone recommends reading it through once, then going through again while taking time with each question to really examine who you are and reflect on who you want to be.

However, the usefulness of this material extends far beyond just two reads, as readers can keep this book and come back to it in the following weeks, months and years. The questions, examples, exercises and solutions are relevant at any age for anyone looking to live an authentic, intentional, purpose-filled life.

“It’s time to live life like you mean it because the world needs the story you bring,” Angone concludes. “If not now, when? If not you, then who?”

Book Reviewed

Paul Angone, 101 Questions You Need to Ask in Your Twenties (And Let’s Be Honest, Your Thirties Too). (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2018).