For the New Graduate: In Search of a Full Life

Barb Szyszkiewicz recommends a new book by Leonard J. DeLorenzo as a gift for young people as they graduate and/or start new careers.

No matter how much advice we parents offer our children, it's never enough (in our minds). And then along comes graduation day or another young-adult milestone, and we frantically try to impart all our hard-won wisdom to someone who's too wrapped up in finding out everything for themselves to hear us. As the mom of three young adults, the youngest of whom will graduate college this weekend, I've learned the hard way that sometimes the wisdom needs to come from a different source — not a parent — to be appreciated.

Leonard J. DeLorenzo's new book, In Search of a Full Life: A Practical and Spiritual Guide, is an excellent resource for young people just starting out, from an author parents can trust. DeLorenzo is a professor at the University of Notre Dame and in the McGrath Institute for Church Life, and the author of more than a dozen books, in addition to a podcaster and radio host, as well as the father of six. He has plenty of experience with speaking to young adults and sharing the wisdom they might not even realize they need.

null

In this book, DeLorenzo addresses everything from prayer to work and study habits to dating and sex to reading Scripture to being uncomfortable ... and finally, finding joy. In chapters of 5 to 7 pages, he offers stories to back up his points, using an approachable tone that won't turn off a reader who might not think they need life advice.

In Search of a Full Life isn't a book you'd need to read start to finish, but one that's easy to dip into topic by topic. Some topics are given more than one chapter, so I'd recommend reading those chapters in the order they're presented (as they build on each other); otherwise, you can go straight to the chapter on discernment or the one on grief if those are the topics you want to focus on first.

I'd argue that the advice in this book isn't applicable only to readers in their twenties. We all need reminders from time to time, invitations to re-examine the way we do things. I found the chapter on work and study habits to be very helpful in that regard. It was a good challenge to look at what I do and find better ways to resist the temptation to lose focus.

This book would make an excellent graduation gift for high-school or college students. I'd also recommend it for teens (15 and up) receiving the sacrament of Confirmation, or for any teen who's looking for solid life advice.

Ask for In Search of a Full Life at your local Catholic bookseller, or order online from Amazon.com or the publisher, Our Sunday Visitor.

Is this a book you'd like to read? Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

null

This article contains Amazon affiliate links, which provide a small compensation to the author of this piece when purchases are made through the links, at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting our Catholic Mom writers in this way.