These are the books that became my lighthouses in the messy middle—reminding me that you don’t need to wait for milestones to start living your dream life. If you’ve ever felt untethered or weighed down by “shoulds,” these stories may help you find your own way home.

My childhood bedroom is now my office. A wooden desk sits where a twin bed once was, cameras and computers where Barbies once lived. Some days it feels like my past self is still here, just out of reach. This essay is about memory, leaving and returning, and what it means to live beside her again.