An honest and deeply reported account of five women and the opportunities and frustrations they face in the year following their graduation from an elite university.Recent Princeton graduate Caroline Kitchener weaves together her experiences from her first year after college with that of four of her peers in order to delve more deeply into what the world now offers a female college graduate, and how the world perceives them.
Each of the five girls in this diverse group were expected to attend college--but most had no clear expectations for their futures post-graduation. And as Kitchener follows each member of the group, it becomes harder to reduce them to stereotypes, harder either to defend or to judge their choices. Kitchener navigates expertly between the very personal and the wider sociological perspectives as she outlines a chronological year in the lives of all five women, illuminating and clarifying each one of their choices, victories, and foibles.
Both a broad and an intensely individual exploration, Post Grad is a portrait of the shifting environment of that important year after graduation, as well as an intimate look at how a select group of very different individuals handles its challenges--navigating family tensions, relationships, jobs, and that ever-elusive notion of independence.
About the Author :
Caroline Kitchener graduated from Princeton in 2014 with a degree in History and Gender Studies. Her work has appeared on The Atlantic and The Guardian. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. with her partner.
Amanda Dolan is a professional actor in the MFA program at Brown University. Her credits include Richard III, Macbeth, Falsettos, The Rocky Horror Show, Hair, and The Who's Tommy.
Review :
"Documents the trials and successes that this diverse group of individuals encounter during their first year away from the relative security and certainty of campus existence...An intelligent and thoughtful exploration of postcollege life that will strike a chord with young adults and those interested in future women of action."
-- "Library Journal"
"Kitchener excels at sprinkling the multiple story lines with statistics to add clarity and insight to a truly challenging stage of life."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Offers an absorbing and introspective look at the challenges facing young women today as they attempt to find their footing on individual paths."
-- "Booklist"
"Writing about a group of young women as they really are--and not as they are imagined by their parents, the media, or themselves--is an enormous challenge...Fascinating, at times disturbing, often moving, and always achingly honest."
-- "Evan Thomas, New York Times bestselling author"
There's no prep course for how to cultivate one's independent identity or how to simultaneously parse parental expectations, personal dreams, and reality's limitations. Sincere, eloquent, and thorough...a must read."
-- "Angela Palm, author of Riverine"
