Title: SEARCH: A Guide for College and Life

Authors: Barbara Roquemore, Ed.D. and Jeff Duffey, M.D.

Genre: Non-fiction

In SEARCH: A Guide for College and Life, Barbara Roquemore and Jeff Duffey offer practical advice for incoming college freshman, which can also be applied as one goes through college and life. Their advice covers almost everything imaginable, from finances to time management to making choices regarding a future partner. SEARCH offers encouragement along the way as well.

With many resources readily available online for college students, SEARCH is a useful and thorough collection of important, vital information. Not only is it varied and widespread is its coverage of several topics, but the authors continually offer links to articles online to read for more information, as well as the titles of other helpful books and resources. If there is one book a college student, or otherwise older adult, should keep for quick reference when making an important decision, it is SEARCH. No doubt Roquemore and Duffey performed extensive research when compiling and writing this book, and it’s clear from their advice and routine encouragement that they stand behind their words and really care about helping college students. The authors are both professionals in the college experience and therefore are trustworthy sources.

While SEARCH is a long book at 76,000 words and may feel overwhelming at times because it covers such a wide variety of topics, including surviving spring break and living arrangements, it is not the type of book that’s meant to be read once, cover to cover, and placed aside. It’s a guidebook, a resource meant to be consulted time and again when a student needs to make difficult choices. When the voices of parents, peers, and others clamor to be heard, a new college student can undoubtedly feel overwhelmed. Even their own voice may add to that confusion, so having a handy source like SEARCH is important.

Even for readers who are older and have been out of college for several years, even decades, this book is interesting to read and provides a better understanding of what college students face nowadays; plus the information is useful throughout life. This reader speaks from experience in this regard. College is a pivotal time in life, and the perspective one has after two decades lends to sometimes wishing different choices had been made in college. A book like SEARCH would have been an eye-opening resource to have many years ago, but for those of us who are parents, we can certainly encourage our children to read this book when they’re at that point in their life when they are about to go to college, or even if college is the correct choice for them. A principal takeaway from reading a book on advice for college students, which is included in SEARCH, is whether college is “right” for everyone.

SEARCH is the go-to guidebook for college students and students of life. Rich with advice, resources, and encouragement on a plethora of topics, Roquemore and Duffey’s book is an important resource for upcoming college freshmen and beyond. When seeking to make decisions about college, SEARCH provides critical guidance and is highly recommended.

This Editorial Review was written by the Book Review Directory staff. To receive a similarly honest, professional review for one of your own books, click here.