The Space Between

SHORTLISTED FOR ABIA GENERAL NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021

From the creators of the hit podcast Shameless: relatable ruminations on the mess, the madness and the magic of not-quite-adulthood.

There’s this weird gap in life that’s fuelled by cheap tacos and even cheaper tequila – also known as our twenties. It’s a specific limbo between being a teenager and a Proper Adult, and though it’s wildly confusing, often lonely, sometimes embarrassing and frequently daunting, there’s also a whole lot of magic to be found in the chaos. It’s a time when we’re finding our own voices, cementing our relationships and starting to fulfil our big ambitions (or simply just working out what they are).

Michelle Andrews and Zara McDonald, creators of the award-winning pop culture podcast Shameless, are two of the many twentysomething women trying to make sense of it all. They definitely don’t have all the answers but they know that mapping out our place in the world is a little bit easier when we do it together.

Brimming with wit and unflinching honesty, these are their stories and personal puzzles about life as twentysomethings: from heartbreak and mental health challenges to overcoming career setbacks and letting go of fear. (Not forgetting the deeper meaning behind the states of their fridges and why it’s so damn good to ghost out of a friend’s party.)

Join Zara and Michelle as they figure out who they are now and who they want to be. You just might find tiny pieces of yourself in the space between the first page and the last.