Book Review: Confessions of a Frustrated Millenial

Ladies, have you ever read a book that spoke to your soul with such clarity? Well, I have never identified with a book so closely in a long time as I did with Confessions of a Frustrated Millenial. I started the book whilst waiting for my flight from Los Angeles to London, and was almost done by the time my flight was due to land. That’s how unputdownable it is! 
Confessions of a Frustrated Millenial focuses on the lives of three women of colour from Chicago, who are in their late twenties are plagued with the real struggles of being a millennial. All three graduated from different colleges (‘university’ to my UK peeps) with big career dreams which eventually morphe into desperate situations of unfulfillment and disillusionment. 

Meet the Millennials
Meet Natasha, an overworked and underappreciated marketing coordinator at loggerheads with her boss. Then there is Danielle, an aspiring Broadway actress who has played a few minor stage roles but is still due her big break. And finally Jayla, a law graduate at her witts end and in total despair after a year of search and rejection. Confessions of a Frustrated Millenial will take you on these ladies’ separate journeys as life’s unexpected turns send them on a mission to find their purpose and passion. 

What is a Millennial? 
The word is one of those terms that have come into existence in our modern day and is used to describe people currently in their 20s and 30s.  As millennials, we are famed for having to fight a competitive jobs market, an unattainable housing ladder, and mounting student debt. But remarkably our difficulties have forced us to think outside of the box and tap into our creativity in order to survive. We are the generation who has had to fight for our place in a troubled economy and this is embodied within the narrative of Confessions of a Frustrated Millenial.

Reading the Book is like Chilling with Friends over a Glass of Wine
What I absolutely adored about the book is that the text is so real and relatable. Reading it was like sitting in my living room with my three girlfriends, and some wine whilst gisting about life. When Jayla, recounts the five stages a new graduate goes through when searching for a job, from happiness to desperation, I found myself nodding ‘yep, yep, yep’.
There is also a scene where Natasha gets annoyed at a colleague wanting to touch her freshly braided hair because ‘it looks so different’, which made me think about my own battles with coworkers who constantly invade my personal space everytime I walk into work with a new hairstyle.
Like all great books, there were moments that made me well up with emotion. A heartfelt scene between Jayla and her mother after yet another job rejection took me back to my time when I was on my own desperate search. This is the secret of  Confessions of a Frustrated Millenial. It’s about life. And like real life, it’s not just about one thing: the confrontation of and triumphs over personal struggle, heartbreak (yes employers can also break your heart), romance and self-acceptance are all themes that come into play, and all these themes are laced with the touch issue of race. Because as if being an inexperienced graduate is not enough, our ladies also have to deal with one more giant barrier to success: being black. BUT throughout the book, I could just feel the hand of God in these women’s lives (am I being a bit too dramatic?)
What also makes the text so relevant is that it bears all the hallmarks of the modern age. Embedded in the storyline are the deception of social media, reality TV, the world of blogging, online business and other phenomena that have taken centre stage in recent times. Furthermore, the story is written from the first-person point of view and loaded with emotion. The fact that the book is essentially three storylines (or three branches of the same tree) gives the reader a real panoramic view of millennial life. However, I can’t help but wonder how much more depth each of the storylines might have had if they were allowed to be standalone novels. 
Whilst reading,  I had this strange feeling of the author, Eugenia R. Jefferson being my spirit sister because the storylines matched parts of my own story so well. When I got to the last page and saw her short bio, I thought to myself  ‘that is why!’ She’s a Journalism graduate who also holds a Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications!

My Final Thoughts
I hope by now, you trust me enough to know that when I say a book is a wise investment, it really is. Self-help books are not my go-to, but this novel educated and preached to my soul in so many ways. I learned that the route to success is no straight path. It also had me thinking about what my life would be like in the next five years. Read the book, and you’ll know what I am speaking about. And sisters around the world, do not be put off by the fact that it’s set in America. The struggles which bind us are the same, and are real!
Please, I need you to not hesitate any further. Order your copy of Confessions of a Frustrated Millenial here immediately!