The Secret Art of Being a Grown-Up: Tips, Tricks, and Perks No One Thought to Tell You

By Bridget Watson Payne

Playful and practical advice to make adulthood easier—and more fun.

Hello, grown-ups of all ages! In this book, you’ll find bite-sized bursts of advice and quirky illustrations celebrating your status as an adult, no matter how long you’ve officially been one. Remember how when you were a kid you thought being a grown-up meant you could eat whatever you want and stay up all night watching TV? Turns out it’s true! (As long as you’re willing to accept the consequences and all that other grown-up stuff.)

This lighthearted book provides both wisdom and skills for making the most of the post-childhood years, from the ten things you actually need in the kitchen, to the perils of perfectionism (get a lot more comfortable with being wrong), to the best way of opening a champagne bottle. With these handy tips, you can get more of the benefits of adulthood—and less of the bummers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Apr 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781452160580

Bridget Watson Payne

Bridget Watson Payne is an author, blogger, art book editor, and art lover. She lives in San Francisco.

Book preview

Hello, grown-up!

WELCOME TO THIS BOOK!

It doesn’t matter if you’ve officially been an adult for five minutes or five years or twenty-five years. It’s never too soon, and never too late, to claim the rights and privileges of being a grown-up. Whereas the world decides that you are an adult at 18 or 21 or whatever, grown-up-hood is not something conferred by outside powers, it is something you lay hold of for yourself. Because here’s the secret:

Whereas being an adult is

a lot of hard work, being a

grown-up is fun.

We all intuited this when we were little kids, didn’t we? We imagined that when we were grown-ups we would not be boring like our parents. No, once we were allowed to do whatever we wanted, we would take full advantage of that prerogative. We would eat all the candy. We would stay up late watching TV. We would let the dog sleep in the bed with us. And let our friends come over and stay for supper, not just once in a while but every gosh darn night!

And the thing is, we were right! Being a grown-up is the best. You really do get to eat what you want and do what you want and see your friends when you want. The only catch is that along with being a grown-up comes being an adult, and being an adult is not quite as fun. Because being an adult is basically about responsibility—going to work, paying the bills, etc.

So how do we reconcile the fun of grown-up-hood with the responsibilities of adulthood? Well, it turns out it’s not really such a dichotomy as at first it seems to be. There are lots of practical tips and tricks and best-practices and work-arounds that grown-ups know that make their adult responsibilities easier and more enjoyable, and that in turn free up more of their time and energy for fun grown-up things like coffee-and-donuts and sleepovers and new haircuts.

However, for some mysterious reason, the tricks for leveling-up your grown-up game are rarely articulated, rarely explained. Parents tend to forget to tell their kids about the tabs on the ends of the tinfoil box (p 23). There are no classes in high school about the dangers of credit card interest (p 38). No college seminars about how to get a group of people to decide where to go for dinner (p 97).

Which is where this book comes in. Domestic life, social life, taking care of yourself, taking care

Reviews for The Secret Art of Being a Grown-Up

[thenovelworld_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was hilarious and entertaining. I gifted it to my sister for her birthday and she's been sharing it with her friends.

[bibliophileofalls · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A lovely and charming book! Some good advice, some silliness, a few things I didn't exactly agree with. A perfect book to give to my granddaughter.

[melissa_essenmacher · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very cute book! Very helpful and sometimes funny. The tips and advice were great! This is a great coffee table book! My friends come over and are immediately drawn to the cover and start reading. Grown ups need a little advice and help sometimes too :) I love it!

[renaemcbrian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Pros:
This book was full of practical advice
Short and to the point
Varied designs (some doodles, some charts, etc)
The cover is seriously so cool
This book would make a cute gift
It was a very quick read

Cons:
Get a damn bra fitting!

My Thoughts: This book was pretty cute. It was full of great advice and affirmations, whether the reader is seeing them for the first time or if they're a refresher. This would make a good graduation or "just because" gift. I liked the illustrations, and I liked that some of the advice was metaphorical but could be applied in a literal sense. I would recommend this book as a quick pick-me-up or a cute gift.

[jugglingpaynes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Secret Art of Being a Grown-Up by Bridget Watson Payne is a book full of helpful tips and advice for anyone who is a grown-up or wants to be one. I wish I had had a book like this when I was a young adult. I'm 48 and I still learned a few things from reading it. The topics are in no particular order, but bold headings on almost every page make it easy to navigate and a fast read. Topics range from the trivial -- who knew about the secret of the aluminum foil box? -- to more serious discussions about bill paying and liking yourself. All are presented in a lighthearted way, as if you are sitting with a good friend or mentor. I highly recommend this for the newly minted grown-ups as well as the well-seasoned adults who might have missed out on some of the fun of being a grown-up.

[ansate · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's cute. I like some of the specifics like kitchen tips. I REALLY appreciated things like "you are not your job" and "you deserve to be loved" - yes good, important and definitely true. Also that you are allowed to go to "grown up" places like art galleries. There is a weird power in having permission.
Some of the "truths" about travel and affordablity and wardrobes hit wrong with me - I feel like there are a lot of assumptions about income and dependents and body size there.

[anniehidalgo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a cute book. It would make a nice graduation present, for either high school or college, or maybe a birthday present for someone who is turning 18 or 21. It's full of tips and tricks, and general life advice or motivation, in a style kind of reminiscent of The Oatmeal. It's a bit shorter than I thought it would be, but it's still long enough to be enjoyable. My teenage daughter especially liked it, and thought that much of it was both funny and helpful. One thing I learned from it really stands out - I can't believe I've gotten to the age I am (an age I'm not going to say), without finding out that the little tabs on the end of the box of aluminum foil or saran wrap are there to push down to keep the roll in the box! I guess it's never to late to learn!

[anniebairre · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a cute book. It would make a nice graduation present, for either high school or college, or maybe a birthday present for someone who is turning 18 or 21. It's full of tips and tricks, and general life advice or motivation, in a style kind of reminiscent of The Oatmeal. It's a bit shorter than I thought it would be, but it's still long enough to be enjoyable. My teenage daughter especially liked it, and thought that much of it was both funny and helpful. One thing I learned from it really stands out - I can't believe I've gotten to the age I am (an age I'm not going to say), without finding out that the little tabs on the end of the box of aluminum foil or saran wrap are there to push down to keep the roll in the box! I guess it's never to late to learn!

[sszkutak_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was so excited to receive this book in the mail! I am a "grown-up" I guess but there is always more to learn and I have a younger sister who will be graduating high school much sooner than I would like to admit. I had seen this book popping up and I wanted to read it to see what it was all about. It was WONDERFUL! I adored it and here is why...

The book is easy to read - the tips and tricks are presented as 2 page spreads with illustrations. The text is all different sizes and the images are all visually appealing.

The book has resourceful information and good information - the tips focus on money, what you need, how to live a full life, and how to love yourself.

It has some great advice - "You 100% deserve to be loved" is my favorite and great advice for all ages.

Even as an already 'grown-up' person, I really appreciated this book, it was clever and presented in a way that younger ... almost grown-ups will really be able to take about 10 minutes and read it all. It is quick, wonderfully presented and I think that graduates everywhere should be getting a copy.

[daniexj · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

That was a cute and silly little book with a couple of interesting tidbits scattered throughout as well.

If you're looking for an actual book that helps you deal with transition from Young Adult to Adult in the real world this isn't the book for you (I'd suggest Lifehacker website as a place to start at least).

But, if you're looking for a humorous look at adulthood then this'll be your cup of tea. It's very funny at times and also points out just how random some of our 'adult rules' really are.

As I said, it's a cute little book and definitely worth a quick read, whether you take it seriously or as a humor non-fiction title.

[sweeks1980 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While I'm a grown-up in theory, I often feel like I'm playing at it. Fortunately for me or for others who aren't certain how to navigate being an adult, "The Secret Art of Being a Grown-Up: Tips, Tricks, and Perks No One Thought to Tell You" by Bridget Watson Payne offers some sound advice. This slim book consists mostly of two-page spreads with a main point or theme, such as "90% amazing is still amazing" and "Learn the value of long-term thinking." These themes are accompanied by some pithy elaboration, and graphics help further illustrate the ideas.

As cathemarie's review notes, this book would be a perfect graduation gift. It's helpful without being preachy and pedantic. The end result is a fun, engaging, and practical text for new (and not-so-new) people getting ready to enter the adult world.