Generation WTF: From What the #$%&! to a Wise, Tenacious, and Fearless You: Advice on How to Get There from Experts and WTFers Just Like You

We all know what “WTF” usually means: it’s an exclamation of frustration, anger, and an understandable reaction to the brutal new economic realities that have hit young adults harder than any other group. WTF happened to promises of a bright future? What happened to the jobs? And what do we do now that the rules have changed?

Recent college grads were raised in a time of affluence and entitlement, lulled into thinking that a golden future would happen. Young adults with few role models to teach values like thrift, perseverance, and self-control are ill-equipped to cope with sacrifice and failure. Their dismal employment prospects are merely the most visible symptom of more significant challenges. Fortunately, it’s not too late to change course. This optimistic, reflective, and technologically savvy generation already possesses the tools to thrive—if only they learn to harness the necessary skills for success.

In Generation WTF, Christine Whelan does just that. Dr. Whelan, one of the foremost authorities on the history of the self-help genre, worked with more than one hundred young people to test and tweak the best old-school advice and personalize it for the modern twenty-something. After a decade of researching the industry—and years advising “WTFers” as they struggle to make their way in the “real world”—Dr. Whelan knows firsthand what advice works and what Generation WTF has to offer.

Rather than focusing on the frustration that “WTF” usually stands for, Dr. Whelan leads the charge to reclaim the acronym as a battle cry for a positive future: Generation WTF will be a wise, tenacious, and fearless generation, strengthened by purpose and hope. This practical new guide will show these WTFers the way to success and instill lasting habits that will serve them well in both good times and bad.

Christine B. Whelan, PhD, is a professor, author and journalist. She is a visiting assistant professor of sociology at the University of Pittsburgh. She earned a doctorate from the University of Oxford for her research on the self-help industry. Dr. Whelan is the author of Marry Smart: The Intelligent Woman’s Guide to True Love and Why Smart Men Marry Smart Women. She has been published in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the New York Times, among others. She writes a bi-weekly relationship advice column for BustedHalo, a young adult website. She has appeared live on television and radio programs across the nation.