Allison Trowbridge - Twenty-Two: Letters to a Young Woman Searching for Meaning

Praise for Twenty-Two

Allison is a good friend of mine. She knows about life and love and joy and compassion and friendship. These arent just a collection of letters, they are a series of invitations for you to see yourself more accurately, more compassionately, and more joyfully. Its a discussion about your bright future more than what may have been a painful past. Its a long conversation with a trusted friend.

B OB G OFF , N EW Y ORK T IMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF L OVE D OES

Allisons wisdom and kindness shine through in every word of these letters. Twenty-Two is a fantastic source of encouragement and confidence for women of all ages, especially those moving through the college years.

B ETSY M ILLER & D ONALD M ILLER , N EW Y ORK T IMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF B LUE L IKE J AZZ AND S CARY C LOSE

If I could speak to the younger me, I would have nothing to say. Id just slap her with this book.

J EANNIE M AI , TELEVISION PERSONALITY AND STYLE EXPERT

Young women need this book. All women need this book. With clarity, depth, and vulnerability, Allison writes an impressive tome on mentorship, faith, personal discovery, and becoming. A refreshing and much-needed perspective on womanhood that allows for all things rather than constricting the feminine to a set of expectations. I am personally grateful for this exceptional work.

K IRSTEN H AGLUND , M ISS A MERICA 2008 , NATIONAL TELEVISION POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, HOST, AND WOMENS HEALTH ADVOCATE

Allison is the ideal role model for girls of this generation. Her inspiration, faith-filled point of view, intellect, and wisdom shine through in this book so much so that every parent of girls should encourage their daughters to read it. Allison practices what she preaches and leads by example. Shes the real deal.

C AITLIN C ROSBY B ENWARD , FOUNDER AND CEO OF THE G IVING K EYS

Plato believed that the stories the young first encounter should be models of virtue. Sadly, many modern books are empty wrappers of thought-candy that stimulate our brains but cannot sustain our hunger for substance. In the midst of such a moment, Allison Trowbridge offers a book of plummeting depth that still manages to both dazzle and captivate. Twenty-Two is a timeless guide to life and love, grief and celebration that lunges at you with both the spirit of Plato and flashes of uncommon wisdom. If youre a young womanor young man, actuallyyou cannot afford to miss this book.

J ONATHAN M ERRITT , CONTRIBUTING WRITER FOR THE A TLANTIC AND AUTHOR OF L EARNING TO S PEAK G OD FROM S CRATCH

During the formative years of our early twenties, we search for wisdom, direction, and the heart of a trusted friend. Allisons is the voice of a familiar sister and youll feel loved by every page.

S ARAH D UBBELDAM , EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF D ARLING MAGAZINE

Twenty-Two is a stunning read. Page after page I found it to be insightful, hopeful, and spoken from a heart of love. I will be buying this book for my little sisters and the young women I mentor and love. I wish I had this book at twenty-two, yet its a book thats never too late to read.

E STHER F LEECE , SPEAKER AND AUTHOR OF N O M ORE F AKING F INE

Our generation has never been in greater need of strong women to guide the conversation of female empowerment within faith communities. Trowbridge finds the balance between boldness and grace, stirring bravery within the heart of any young woman. After reading Twenty-Two, Im reminded that being twenty-four is a time for trust and adventure!

M ORIAH P ETERS , RECORDING ARTIST

I love this book! Allies writing pulls you in, makes you part of her world with great stories and sobering truths. Its inspiring and encouraging and an invitation to live big. Allie is the friend and mentor you wish you had in college, and reading Twenty-Two is like a walk on the beach or an afternoon at a caf with her. This book is timeless and lovely and will steal your heart. You need this!

K ATE M ERRICK , AUTHOR OF A ND S TILL S HE L AUGHS

2017 by Allison Trowbridge

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Nelson Books and Thomas Nelson are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

Published in association with Alive Literary Agency, www.aliveliterary.com.

Unless otherwise noted, all photos are from the authors personal collection.

Thomas Nelson titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Any Internet addresses, phone numbers, or company or product information printed in this book are offered as a resource and are not intended in any way to be or to imply an endorsement by Thomas Nelson, nor does Thomas Nelson vouch for the existence, content, or services of these sites, phone numbers, companies, or products beyond the life of this book.

Epub Edition February 2017 ISBN 9780718078119

ISBN 978-0-7180-7811-9 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBN 978-0-7180-7816-4

Names: Trowbridge, Allison, author.

Title: Twenty-two : letters to a young woman searching for meaning / Allison Trowbridge.

Description: Nashville, Tennessee : Nelson Books, [2017]

Identifiers: LCCN 2016036963 | ISBN 9780718078164

Subjects: LCSH: Conduct of life. | Young women--Psychology. | Vocational guidance. | Meaning (Philosophy) | Spiritual life.

Classification: LCC BJ1589 .T76 2017 | DDC 170.84/22--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016036963

Printed in the United States of America

17 18 19 20 21 LSC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To every young woman

who is, or was, or ever will be Ash.

This story is yours.

And to Daisy Love,

who showed us and went before us.

I t was late in the spring of senior year, and my world was charging toward a new upheaval: college graduation. One warm evening, the night alive with uncertainty and expectation, my roommate and I drove home and parked the car outside our apartment. We leaned the seats back to gaze at the sky and stayed there talking till dawn, dreaming about years yet to unfold and laughing over memories until our faces hurt.

As we stared into the starry abyss of our future, we wondered if we were really prepared to face all the changes that lay before us. I wish there was a book that spoke to all the questions and pressures and hopes we have in this season of life, I sighed. We need that kind of guidance, and nothing like it exists.

We were silent for a moment, then I added, Maybe Ill write that book someday.