Novelist Andrew Sean Greer has added another line to his résumé: advice columnist.
The author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Less and its sequel, Less Is Lost, is the latest guest to take on Slate’s Dear Prudence advice column. Greer answered questions from readers trying to navigate sticky situations.
In a letter from “Lonely Hearts Club Band of One,” an advice seeker wrote that they are having trouble making close friendships after moving back to the part of the U.S. they used to live in. “[D]o I have to accept at this stage of my life (I’m in my late 30s), people don’t have time and can’t connect anymore the way we did in our mid to late 20s, and stay lonely?” they asked.
“What you need to find is a Nexus: a person from whom more friends will come,” Greer replied. “Take a chance—it’s like dating without the heartbreak. Enjoy the newness of people and be open to possibility and chance.”
Another correspondent, “Sincerely, Not Ready to Grow Up,” wrote of experiencing panic after recently graduating from college. “How does anyone go from being young and dependent to the weight life throws on them at age 22?” they wrote. “Is everyone just pretending to have their life together?”
Pretty much, Greer replied. “THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A GROWN-UP,” he wrote. “Yes, they are all pretending to have their life together. At best, they have it together now but are pretending nothing will ever change—but change is guaranteed.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
