U Thrive: How to Succeed in College

From unparalleled academic challenge to relationship drama to the notorious Freshman 15, college is downright hard. If you want to be able to handle everything college throws at you, and even excel while doing it, this book is the place to start. Lerner and Schlechter have created a book specifically for college students’ challenges. The book is divided into four parts: how to be happy (including chapters on relationships and positive emotions), how to change and deal with change (optimism versus pessimism, motivation, decision making, and mental health), how to be physically healthy (eat well, sleep well, exercise), and finally how to find purpose through passion and excellence. Each chapter closes with a summary and a series of exercises to help develop the attributes and habits discussed in the chapter. While some challenges are college-specific, most advice can be applied to anyone anywhere in life. The tone and writing style are specialized to undergrads; if you find the use of “fricking” every other paragraph irritating, perhaps a different self-help book is for you. If you can ignore the gratingly familiar style and forced flippancy, this book has some solid advice that can help anyone anywhere truly thrive.