Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement Hardcover – April 16, 2019

I’ve discovered this book by Rich Karlgaard in my 70’s - the Erik Erickson developmental stage of Integrity v. Despair. As one who didn’t begin blooming till age 37 this well-written and compelling description of today’s pressure on children, teens and young adults to “achieve early” has provided me with validation for 3+ decades of what felt like floundering, and inspiration to make even a tiny impact by spreading the word to friends, family, educational venues, and colleagues in the social services. It has helped my almost-30 year old niece - who struggles with finding her identity - to realize that she is neither alone nor weird in the process. My grandkids school libraries have been the beneficiaries of copies for their “parents” sections. Late Bloomers is a comprehensible and worthwhile read for ANY AGE from teen through older adult. The reassuring and hopeful takeaway has been that we all have the potential to bloom many times, life long, into a satisfying feeling and place of integrity rather than despair.

Dear Mr. Karlgaard, I want to THANK YOU for writing Late Bloomers! You have validated so much of my concerns as I'm raising kids, all currently teenagers. Every parent I know talks about how much less pressure we had growing up. Yet, we all feel compelled to instill a fear of failure in our kids. This comes from our own fear of failing as parents if our kids aren’t successful right away.I have read many pages of the book out loud to my kids. My 15 year old daughter had tears in her eyes and sighed when I finished reading the first page to her. I take pictures of pages and send them to friends because I get so inspired.I bought your book because I heard your interview on NPR and loved how you walked through the maturing and personal development process of a person's in their 20's, 30's, 40's and beyond. This is hands down the most exciting parenting book I’ve ever read, and I’ve read plenty!Hopefully this book makes a dent in helping parents chill out on trying to make their kids "peak early".

As a Boomer of 70, this book was useful except that Karlgaard seems to think that twenties or early thirties is "late."Not even. While comparing one's self to a 9 yo math whiz can make a forty something feel ancient, true Late bloomers often come into their own very late in life. Say, post sixty.Sixty seems to be the upper end of his bandwidth, which is a shame. I'd have gotten more value had he explored the remarkable world of life makeovers after sixty. That's where I live, that's what I did and I am in good company.So yes, good book. He will find, as we all do should we live so long, that sixty is quite often where a huge number of folks find a whole other gear. I'm still looking for that book, although this was a worthwhile read.

This is not just a critique on how the USA is squandering the talents of many capable people, with its obsession on youth and its prejudice against older workers, but it has powerful and useful advice on how anyone can become a bloomer. Well written and exhaustively researched. I was a late late bloomer , getting married and becoming a father in my 50s; publishing a book in Ukraine in my 60s. Last September I uploaded four videos on You Tube on the theme "Who and What Created Trump?" (The only way to find the videos is to go to the Search line on You Tube and type in :Bohdan Hodiak.) I should add that what has also helped me, in my 80s is Christian spirituality. The past 25 years of my life have been the most interesting of all.

I bombed on the SAT - 860 m... combined. I got the lowest score of anyone I know. I still became an English teacher and took the test again seventeen years later. This time, I scored about a 1200. Two years after, I took the SAT yet again at the age of 33 and scored about a 1300. What accounted for the 440 point increase? Time, maturation, brain development, life experience, hours read, and... I actually studied for the test in my 30’s. I couldn’t give two sh*ts in HS.I am example of a late bloomer and reading this book for me is a personal insight into who I am and how I got this way. The book is chock-full if the latest research on my some kids FLY (and many times, crash) earlier than others and why others SOAR in their 30’s, 40’s, and beyond.

Such a timely book that really breaks down what it means to be a late bloomer in the 21st-century. I like how the author use lots of examples of late bloomers from the past and the present. The writing is very relatable. Grab a tissue. You might find yourself written in the pages of this book in seeing how you’ve experienced your own late blooming life within the last few chapters. Timely. Relevant. And a destigmatizes being a late bloomer, and I love that.

Not all of us are savants! Parents, grooming, talent cultivation, quality educations, and don’t make big mistakes! All lead to success and/or resilience, or both. Late success is appreciated more in this read due to extended sweat equity labor. See one’s self in life’s stages; your sociology lesson!

Avid readers of comparative books will notice almost immediately that Karlgaard modeles his book after Susan Cain’s “Quiet”, arguing that a certain trait viewed by society in a negative light is actually good in a specific chapter structure. I really appreciate Late Bloomer’s message and it completely changed my perspective on achievement. However, I would warn that while the message lives up to similar books, the writing does not. If you’re looking for well crafted information delivery and engaging writing (especially near the middle), you won’t find it here. It can be hard to read at times and it’s surface level analysis can be incredibly disappointing.