Malaria Shots Not Included

About the Book

Is there life after college?  Yes, and it is a scary jungle where obstacles and pitfalls lay in the grass alongside opportunity.  Malaria Shots Not Included: A Guide to Surviving Life After College can help young grads safely navigate the wild rivers of early adulthood.  A collection of personal essays, journal assignments, quotes from other twentysomethings, and photographs, the book feels like an intimate conversation with a friend who understands your darkest fears and believes in your greatest dreams.  It is designed to help recent college grads grapple with the complex and confusing transition into the real world.

Below is a chapter-by-chapter overview of the book.  Read it to understand how this book can help you overcome your graduation fears and cultivate a quality life for yourself.

Malaria Shots Not Included

A Guide to Surviving Life After College

Introduction-Welcome to the Jungle

Overview of the book.

Part I-The Adventure Begins Leaving School for the Real World

How to balance yourself while taking those first rocky steps.

Chapter 1 Be Afraid.  Be Very Afraid.

The greatest fear is fear of the unknown.  Leaving the safety of school can be frightening to many young people because the future is a blank slate.  In response, you are apt to take action, any action, rather than confront your fears.  However, the more willing you are to deal with your feelings, the less likely you are to make panicky, ill-considered choices.  Acknowledge your anxieties and insecurities and then move beyond them.

Chapter 2 In Search of Bliss

How do you strike a balance between the needs of the moment and happiness in the long term?  It is hard to worry about your happiness when you dont know where next months rent is coming from.  Nonetheless, your dreams are worth more than any amount of rent money.  This chapter shows you how to keep that in mind even as you find a way to make ends meet.

Chapter 3 The Hunt

Getting a job: its the first thing most graduates think about.  Sudden insecurity and the swamp of available choices can overwhelm anybodys best plans.  Your work is not the sum total of who you are.  You can find work you love, even if your first job does not quite equal those starry-eyed, pre-graduation expectations.

Part II-Evolution: Change and Loss in Your Twenties

Addresses the waves of change, loss, and love you will encounter.

Chapter 4 Warning: Danger Ahead!

The only certainty of life after college is that everything will change.  You will lose friends.  Your life will look and feel different.  Values and beliefs will be altered.  How can you prepare for situations you cannot yet imagine?  Find suggestions here.

Chapter 5 Mating Season

For most of us, a big part of young adulthood is the quest for love.  However, in your twenties your notions of romance and marriage will surely change.  Will you adopt a new set of values or find a better way to relate to the ones you have now?  Examine your attitudes about love, sex, and relationships.

Chapter 6 Peace in the Village

Of all the changes that will happen in your twenties, the most profound will be the one that involves your family.  How will your family relate to you after you leave college?  How will you relate to them?  It is necessary to make peace with your yourself and your family in order to become your own person.  Find out why.

Part III-A Garden in the Jungle: Cultivating A Quality Life

Why balance is the key to a happy life.

Chapter 7 The Land of Plenty

Money (or lack thereof) can significantly impact your life.  What are your attitudes about money?  How can you take control of your finances before they take control of you?  A need not greed approach to measuring your worth can help y

About the Author

Marcia Wall is an essayist, poet, photographer and English instructor. She has published her work in such places as SageWoman, Matirx, Moxie, and San Diego Uptown Publications. She likes cooking, traveling, and running. Born in Texas, raised in California, Ms. Wall currently resides in New Orleans, Louisiana.