A book for the beginning.

An 18th or 21st is a beginning. Garland Press makes a hardback book for it: advice and stories from the people who know them, in their own words.

It started when my cousin’s son turned 18. My cousin was putting together a book for him by hand, and asked me to write for it. I was touched to be asked and moved by the whole thing, and surprised nobody had made it easier to do.

Usually a parent organises the book, sometimes a godparent, sibling or friend. They share one link with the people they’d like in the book, and everyone chooses what they’d like to write about.

Ask someone to ‘write something’ and most people freeze. Ask what they know about money now that they wish someone had told them at 18, and they have their first sentence before they’ve finished reading. Every entry in the book answers a question like that.

The organiser reads every entry before anything is printed. I check every proof by hand, and each book is printed and bound in the UK.

Questions before you start? hello@garlandpress.com.