Review: Welcome to Adulting

From the start of Welcome to Adulting, it’s clear that the author, Jonathan Pokluda (JP) has a heart for helping young adults navigate life in the 21st century. I heard about JP and The Porch, a ministry that he runs for young adults and singles on a podcast, and was keen to read his book as a result. This book is full of honest anecdotes about the lives of JP and his friends as he navigated teen years, and his twenties, before he found Jesus. As I read, I was hopeful that the life experience he spoke about, and the openness in which he shared on the podcast, were traits replicated in the book. Fortunately, this was the case and they help illustrate the life-changing differences that Jesus makes. 

The stories JP has selected clearly show the contrast between a life following Jesus and a life without him. But while powerful, the stories take up too many of the words in this book. I would have appreciated a different weighting between anecdotes and explanation directly from scripture. Many of the applications drawn are deeply rooted in a robust christian world view, but these weren’t clearly demonstrated from scripture. Often, references to the Bible appear to be used more as supporting statements, rather than the statements of truth themselves. This is a little concerning for me as someone trying to present the Bible to young adults as the authoritative source for guidance through life. 

These drawbacks aren’t all encompassing though. It is hard to write this review without mentioning the final chapter of the book. JP does an excellent job at presenting the gospel in a contemporary way, and it provides a great conclusion to the book. The way that this last chapter draws all the previous chapters together and points the reader to salvation and life in Jesus is compelling.  It’s just a shame that earlier chapters were less clear on their gospel-centeredness.

Another aspect of the book that I found helpful is that not every chapter is written specifically for someone in their late teens or early twenties. I’ve found this is often the flaw of books written for ‘young adults’, which then go on to neglect people who have finished education and entered the workforce, leaving them to grapple with what’s next themselves. Chapters on Conflict, Worry and Recovery, among others, speak well into the lives of people who have been ‘adulting’ for a while, but are still wrestling with following Jesus in their particular context.

If you minister amongst young adults (and singles!), this book is worth a read within your community. Despite its flaws, if read in a small group, and discussed together, it’s likely that you’ll find it helpful. There’s some great questions at the end of each chapter that would be ideal for discussion between 3 to 5 people. As the book points out on a number of occasions, there’s lots of things competing for the minds of people in their 20’s, so I can’t not recommend a book that’s going to help provide some clarity to young adults who really need it, and point them to Jesus at the same time.

If you would like to support my writing, please head on over to The Wandering Bookseller (if you are in Australia) or Book Depository (rest of the world) to buy this book – both with free shipping!