Why are adults in their twenties and thirties stuck in their parents' homes in the world's wealthiest countries?

There's no question that globalization has drastically changed the cultural landscape across the world. The cost of living is rising, and high unemployment rates have created an untenable economic climate that has severely compromised the path to adulthood for young people in their twenties and thirties. And there's no end in sight. Families are hunkering down, expanding the reach of their households to envelop economically vulnerable young adults. Acclaimed sociologist Katherine Newman explores the trend toward a rising number of "accordion families" composed of adult children who will be living off their parents' retirement savings with little means of their own when the older generation is gone.

While the trend crosses the developed world, the cultural and political responses to accordion families differ dramatically. In Japan, there is a sense of horror and fear associated with "parasite singles," whereas in Italy, the "cult of mammismo," or mamma's boys, is common and widely accepted, though the government is rallying against it. Meanwhile, in Spain, frustrated parents and millenials angrily blame politicians and big business for the growing number of youth forced to live at home.

Newman's investigation, conducted in six countries, transports the reader into the homes of accordion families and uncovers fascinating links between globalization and the failure-to-launch trend. Drawing from over three hundred interviews, Newman concludes that nations with weak welfare states have the highest frequency of accordion families while the trend is virtually unknown in the Nordic countries. The United States is caught in between. But globalization is reshaping the landscape of adulthood everywhere, and the consequences are far-reaching in our private lives. In this gripping and urgent book, Newman urges Americans not to simply dismiss the boomerang generation but, rather, to strategize how we can help the younger generation make its own place in the world.



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In the Media

Click here to see The Accordion Family featured in the Editor's Choice section of the New York Times Book Review.
Click here to see The Accordion Family featured in the recentNew York Times article, "Rules for When The Chicks Return to the Nest".
Click here to watch an interview with Katherine Newman featuring The Accordion Family on PBS NewsHour.
Click here to read an essay by Katherine Newman on Time.com.
Click here to listen to an interview with Katherine Newman featuring The Accordion Family on PRI's Marketplace.
Click here to read a review of The Accordion Family in the August 29th issue ofPublishers Weekly.
Click here to listen to an interview with Katherine Newman featuring The Accordion Family on WBUR's Radio Boston.
Click here to read an opinion piece by Newman in the New York Times.

Click here to read an interview with Newman in the Huffington Post.

Click here to read a review of Newman's work in the Boston Globe.

Click here to read an excerpt of The Accordion Family in The Chronicle Review.

Click here to read a write-up of The Accordion Family on Mothering21.com.

Click here to read an article featuring The Accordion Family on Salon.com.

Click here to read an article featuring The Accordion Family on PsychCentral.com.

Click here to read a Q&A with Katherine Newman posted to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Click here to listen to an interview with Katherine Newman on Minnesota Public Radio's The Daily Circuit.

Click here to watch Katherine Newman on MSNBC's The Dylan Ratigan Show.

Click here to read a follow-up article featuring The Accordion Family on PsychCentral.com.