Books That Helped Me Through My Early Twenties 📖 | Lucy Moon

[@noahr2854]

I also found comfort in Oh, The Places You’ll Go in my early twenties, but for opposite reasons. My life didn't felt chaotic and turbulent, it felt slow and empty, and I felt lost and stuck. Oh, The Places You’ll Go gave me the assurance to know that I'd find my way through, in my own time, even when it felt like I never would. That I'd escape all that waiting and staying, and find the bright places where boom bands are playing. That I'd be the guy who'll decide where to go. I'm glad that you, who had such a different experience, found such a similar solace in it.

[@emmafaid]

What a Time to be Alone and How to Get Over a Boy literally changed my entire mindset on dating and self-love. I read WATTBA in the first lockdown as I found that I just could not get over my ex and it completely changed my perspective - I have never felt so powerful or comfortable being myself. I went into my next relationship (over a year later) the with the healthiest mindset to dating and knowing that I will be okay and complete with or without anyone else. Both of Chidera's books taught me that a man or a relationship should only ever add to my life - it should never be the soul reason for my happiness and I think that is a lesson every girl and woman ought to be aware of!

[@breannepoole2831]

I love this new little corner! So cute!

[@leahsapaden_]

The midnight library by Matt Haig, it approaches overthinking and there’s no right way to live really well. Solid advice for your 20’s

[@marloesk9753]

i was about to say the same thing

[@anadefreitas2335]

This book is really unhelpful for most who suffer with suicidal thoughts and whatnot, honestly! Just leaving a warning for the odd comment reader here ♥️

[@LightintheWasteland]

@@anadefreitas2335 I agree with this, only read if you're in the right place to 🖤. I bought it on the recommendation that it's helpful for those struggling with s or s thoughts. But I found it so so triggering.

[@victoriahale1769]

love this book

[@khalilahd.]

I just started Atomic habits and I already love it! I’ll try Quit like a woman after ☺️

[@hylabrid]

Can tell 21 year old me would’ve loved some of these books! Especially not taking things personally/not realising people’s mindsets are a reflection of their own opinions/experiences and not about me in any way💕

[@according2her]

It sounds so flat and generic, but you really are one of my favourite KZbinrs. I got into KZbin very late and only through you but through the years you have been a constant in my feed. You are so inspiring a woman, being flawed (in the wonderful human way we all are), informed, stylish, always learning, so well-spoken, a critical thinker and just all round wonderful internet personality. I wanted to thank you for that :) PS: On the topic of information in a book not being 'new' or 'original', people always need to start somewhere. The basics, made understandable and relatable are so important as a starting point. I don't understand how people use this as criticism XD Very ignorant of people to assume everyone is at the same point in their education or that because they know something, it should be obvious to everyone.

[@lucymoon]

🥺thank you! so glad you enjoy my little vids xx

[@megh.3078]

These are such helpful recs, think I’m going to start with the body keeps score. Also, LOVE the background!! Thanks for another great video, Lucy!🥰

[@AussieAriesGirl]

✨sighs✨ opens tbr and adds more books to an already extensive list

[@roowook4105]

I adore these kinds of videos! Most of these recs were some I've had in the back of my head but this video had me physically jot them down. And now I have a date to go to the library with my friend :) Thank you for sharing not only your thoughts on the literature but also opening up about your experiences. Hope you have a great day Lucy!

[@chiarabertoldi7]

Oh the places you’ll go was given to me too around 17, I still keep it and read it once in a while! It’s just my safe space ❤️

[@ameliel8792]

Wow so glad you included The Body Keeps the Score. We learn almost nothing about mental health let alone trauma in school and with the very very damn sad prevalence of sexual assault for instance, young people need to be educated and empowered around what trauma is otherwise you are just left in shame. I'm done with the very limited idea in mainstream medicine that going to counselling/talk therapy (and that's if you're privileged enough to even afford that in the first place!) is the route to all healing. Trauma is mostly a somatic experience, not a cognitive one and sadly we in the UK are so far behind when it comes to cutting edge trauma treatments from US. I'm learning about Somatic Experiencing right now and it's a whole thing.

[@JustineCerise]

I highly recommend Woman Who Run With Wolves, it talks about femininity in a way I never have seen before and it uses different cultural stories to get its points across which I find a refreshing way to be intersectional.

[@hollym7878]

A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers. The sweetest little novella you will ever read that's both an exploration of the meaning of life and finding your purpose, and a fun story about a monk and robot who go on adventures. It's technically sci-fi, but don't let that turn you off if it's not typically your genre. I cannot recommend it enough, and it's short!

[@byggrynsgroet]

YES, i want to read about a monk and a robot that go on adventures🥺🥺

[@salomeisbored]

Loved the art behind you 💛 You got me curious about a few of those books 😊

[@LaCherieJo]

Trying to get into these sorts of books lately! Thank you for these recommendations 💕

[@paulbrown4850]

Loving the look lucy

[@PWRetro]

Hi Lucy, another great video! One of my personal faves I read in my early 20s just before I got fired from The Telegraph was "Dune" by Frank Herbert. I don't think a lot of people have heard about it because it's full of sci-fi nonsense and a lot of words that he just made up but it's a really cool novel about worm life and worm life cycles. Speaking of when are you going to finish your series on Worms Armageddon? I love those crazy little creatures.

[@biancaalejandro6759]

Thanks for all of these recommendations Lucy! I will definitely be adding these to my list. Great content.

[@ricetarts]

Finance is so important and I do agree that it should be taught more in school! It is so essential to understand finance in order to thrive in our current society. It’s sad, but it is the truth :(

[@thealiceftw]

Love these type of videos! x

[@mallster]

I recently finished uni, and wants to try and pick up reading again - so thanks for the book recommendations ❤️ and i love your new background!! (and your hairstyle!) 😍

[@adira-o6n]

Your hair looks so cute in this

[@lucymoon]

Thanks! 💕

[@aiyana1964]

This may not be the *best* recommendation for your early 20s, but I found the memoir I'm Supposed to Protect You from All this by Nadja Spiegelman incredibly impactful. If you're a young woman, or young person, thinking about your relationship with your mother and about generational trauma. I found it to be a very beautiful, impactful, though at times difficult, read.

[@johannawurschlop4457]

I don't even think I know 'Oh, The Places You'll Go", but I can imagine what's it about, and for some reason it instantly made me tear up when you mentioned it

[@phoebe261]

Thank you for this video! Absolutely the content I needed right now, I’m sending it to my friends ☀️

[@samiraschwannecke678]

The filming space is nice 🥰

[@TheKateP]

I'm reading Quit Like A Woman, it's so good! I also recommend reading Sober Curious by Ruby Warrington

[@nospock]

“Not taking anything personally” was a huge revelation for me too! I think it was in my readings for university where it said that other’s reaction to what you say or do is only a reflection of themselves, never of you.

[@audiomanietraum]

I love this new filming space 🥰

[@annbeni]

The name of the wind! Loved it:)

[@rosianna]

Looking forward to your 50th birthday next month x

[@Mad.E]

I would love to hear a similar list of books but with fiction instead :) maybe it's a little less generalize-able but I find fiction also has a strong impact on us, emotionally, but also on a literal learning/advice level

[@angelisri]

This was a really refreshing list of recommendations as there were quite a few here that I hadn’t heard of before. Will definitelyyy be picking up Quit Like a Women. I feel like that book might be long overdue.. lol

[@samiraschwannecke678]

I would love to find 'Money, a users guide' for German market and money system. Anyone got hints? :)

[@banandababa]

Atomic habits is an amazing book. Btw you look radiant 😊

[@emmairwin581]

I didn’t find atomic habits useful at all😭 To me it felt like a complicated way of teaching you to set “SMART goals” and to practice having a routine. I don’t tend to find an immense amount of personal value in nonfiction, especially of the selfhelp variety, but I’ve good enough fiction recommendations to last you a lifetime🤣 Becoming is the only exception here, I loved it !!

[@caoimhe1212]

Where did you get the moon and stars wall hanging behind you? Love it! A lovely vid x

[@_reveux]

nonfiction self-help type of books really aren’t my thing but the body keeps the score sounds very interesting!! i’ve heard about it a bunch of times already but this might be the final nudge i needed to pick it up soon. i generally read much more fiction than anything, and i’d highly recommend beartown by fredrik backman! it’s a bit of a hard read at times because it deals with sexual assault/rape, but it’s such a brilliant and wonderfully written book. and on a lighter note perhaps (re)reading the perks of being a wallflower! i got much more out of it when i reread it in university, and it’s truly just a great book. all my other recs are fantasy haha which i don’t know if you’d like much

[@Mad.E]

Hi, I only just wrote a comment about this, but reading your comment I wanted to mention this here as well nonetheless. If you do read this book I'd recommend to approach it with a critical, sceptical mindset, to ask yourself if what you're reading is science or esotericism. Ask yourself if there are any peer-reviewed studies to back up the claims. And ask yourself if some of the claims - if followed blindly to the end - don't have serious negative consequences. I strongly believe that there are many different variations and shades of trauma that can often present in psychosomatic symptoms as well. But jumping from that to the conclusion that mental states manifest in the same way for everyone sounds worrying to me.

[@ameliel8792]

@@Mad.E this book and the emergence of trauma treatments have been truly life changing for many so I need to caution anyone when reading your comment. I only wish people were as skeptical about a lot of what is considered safe medically in the mainstream as they are about 'alternative' therapy. For instance it is totally normalised for GPs, the people we are meant to most trust with our health to hand out things like birth control, antibiotics, antidepressants etc with alarming abandon rather than seeking the route cause of the issue holistically. Many of these pharmaceuticals are linked to cancer and other life threatening conditions and many have debilitating side effects. Equally when it comes to mental health, our system fails people in crisis in myriad ways - one of which is sending traumatised patients to CBT or talk therapy which could at best gaslight them into repressing their trauma further and at worst retraumatise them and set them back in their healing journey. I feel strongly that we need to do better. Somatic Experiencing/Sensorimotor therapy/EMDR while not what everyone needs, can be a very effective solution for those who have tried everything and nothing is helping.

[@Mad.E]

@@ameliel8792 A few things: I understand the point you're making. However " _our_ system" is most likely not the same since you don't know which country I live in. In fact, where I am it's not GPs but psychiatrists who prescribe antidepressants and gynecologists who prescribe birth control and neither of them do so thoughtlessly. So I can obviously not speak for your situation but neither can you generalize your experiences (which of course doesn't invalidate them). More importantly though: Yes, these meds all have side effects. But _not_ taking them can have just as severe side effects ranging from depression to infections with chronic symptoms to death. I also feel the need to emphasize that I did not vilify all treatment options that are not the ones favored by 'mainstream medicine', especially not trauma treatment options which do indeed exist in mainstream psychology. And claiming that psychologists would gaslight their patients intro repressing trauma? Now that's a properly dangerous allegation if I've ever heard one. Saying such a thing can deter people from seeking out help which can have disastrous consequences. I'm not claiming this to be your intention of course, but even if a psychologist's specialization or approach happen to not work for a patient, I'd refrain from accusing them of malice or malpractice. So, I did write this comment as a reminder that even scientific language and potentially good intentions do not equal a worthwhile result/theory. Rather any such theory - that can not be backed up by data - runs the risk of harming people, even if others find it to be personally helpful. You might compare this to a religion that is a source of strength for one person and yet can invalidate or attack another person's identity. Also if you read my comment, I am merely suggesting to "approach this topic/book with a critical, sceptical mindset" despite Lucy's recommendation, since I have heard some really worrying things about this book and related hypotheses (which, mind you, I didn't even mention). So basically, if this book doesn't hold up to scepticism, it's hardly my doing.

[@ameliel8792]

@@Mad.E for clarify, my point about gaslighting was not referring to individual therapists or their intentions, but is in regard to what is inherent to some widely prescribed modalities themselves. In CBT and DBT therapy, the client is trained to forcibly change their behaviour without even necessarily considering how that behaviour came to manifest - many come out of these feelings invalidated, erased, gaslit.

[@nellien4802]

Quit Like a Woman really changed my life

[@homerrules100]

Just an FYI regarding atomic habits. For those that might have disordered eating now or in the past I think his book could be trigger. There is such an emphasis on size and calories in food unless you have a super super healthy outlook on food it could be an issue. I have to say I stopped reading the book when he started writing about net worth and how that was a function of good financial habits. When in reality scientifically it’s been proven it’s a function of inherited wealth and privilege. So those were red flags for me I personally wouldn’t recommend the book.

[@lucymoon]

I did also notice the poor approach to weight and weight loss, had completely forgotten about it until you mentioned it. One of the failings of the book, thanks for making a note of it here!

[@nish2260]

Given some of the things you spoke about early on in the video, have you been watching Euphoria? I'd be interested to know your take on it and it's influence, especially since like me I think you grew up with Skins, right? :) I really liked your Love Island blog post

[@jewelloveslife]

I could not listen to the audiobook of atomic habits bc it just felt like a long ad for his website 😭 i kept getting distracted

[@jacquiheywood3142]

Off-topic, but do the arms of your glasses need adjusting? You shouldn't have to be pushing them up that often. Great video btw. A great book list.

[@rachelmarshall3149]

the twilight saga = combatting depression

[@ameerahalgohary]

Has anyone listened to the podcast episode debunking "Why We Sleep" that Lucy mentioned, and can sum it up for me? I've found the book extremely helpful and life changing, and I can't get my head around it being pseudo-science-y or not legit in any way. But I find the presenters of the podcast very hard to listen to tbh.

[@alisonallen8658]

Read Amy and isabelle Elizabeth strout and my dark vanessa Kate elizabeth russell Both American both havbe a teaher pupil realisionship the fist written (1998) pore-me too and set in the 70's and the second written in the wake of me too set 2017 (published 2020) the relationship s mirror each other I read the 1st one fisrt! and went straight to the My dark vanessa to get a 'modern' take but the main character refuses to see her self as a victim. both suffer shaming from their families for different reasons. (Amy Isabelle is about mothers and daughter) but I really wish I had read these in my 20s to spot unequal realsionships and games that are played with the young and gulliable (and I was very gulliable).

[@cheninblanc]

I actually didn't like Atomic habits that much..! To me the intro of the book felt like a boring, American humble brag. The rest is useful, but I guess I have binged too much productivity- and studytube to learn anything new. I genuinely don't know, is it just me that finds the information (don't miss a habit, or it won't stick!) obvious or if it really is obvious. The only useful thing I've learnt but not applied yet is habit stacking, always doing your new habit after a habit you already have like brushing your teeth or coming home from work. I'd rename the book "How to build habits for dummies!"