The Cocoon Years is the very real, personal, and vulnerable story of one man's pursuit of a happier life. As one reader said, it's a book that both makes you laugh because of how it recounts certain embarrassing and quirky moments, yet makes you cry because of how it explores the inner battles so many of us silently fight daily.

In The Cocoon Years, author Christopher Nixon, a native of The Bahamas, describes how his life started falling apart when he first entered college. Life felt like it was going in a completely different direction from what he had expected and hoped for. Rather than becoming the hero of his own narrative, it felt like he was taking on the role of a powerless side character.

He found himself feeling lost and devoid of motivation as he attempted to complete courses he had zero interest in. His family life was a chaotic, dysfunctional mess. With no sense of direction and no perception of progress, his mind became an aggressively negative enemy, always on the attack. Meanwhile, he watched as his friends, and even his younger brother, started doing bigger and better things, making him feel that much more like a failure.

Christopher turned to self-numbing substances to drown out frustrations, but those only made matters worse, leading to increased anxiety and a downward spiral into major depression.

That's where this book begins.

But from there, it takes us on a personal journey of change. It's a story of rediscovering motivation; of defeating inner demons like constant negative thinking and toxic comparisons with other people. It's a story of learning to push past fear, doubt, and a naysaying mind in order to act on life-changing ideas. And perhaps most importantly, it explores how we can cultivate the patience and persistence required to achieve our most meaningful goals.

The Cocoon Years IS NOT another self-help book about gimmicky positive thinking hacks, "Yes I can" money affirmations, or any other form of that trendy fluff. It doesn't speak to the top percentiles of go-getters and hyper-talented people who're constantly achieving more and more.

Packed with hard-earned life lessons, The Cocoon Years is a book written by a real person for real people. A book that anyone in that challenging middle phase of the journey - no longer a caterpillar, but not yet the actualized butterfly - would considerably benefit from reading.