In Twenty Something Else, Sutton gets the unexpected opportunity to go from the 2020s—where she’s turning 40—back to the 2000s, to relive her twenties all over again.
Readers travel with Sutton as she chases the what-ifs of her life and takes previously undiscovered paths. And as she becomes reacquainted with 2000s fashion, music, and culture.
To immerse readers in that not-so-long-ago past, author Stephanie Mack looked back at her own 2000s experience, and here she gives us insight into what that process was like.
If you like what you read, get access to the entire first chapter of Twenty Something Else. Or find your own copy in softcover, e-book, or audiobook at a retailer near you.
With one loop of the chorus to “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield, I’m back there, smack in the mid-to-late 2000s. For millennials, this era was teenage dreams, emerging adulthood, and for many of us, college. It was also—excuse me—yesterday.
So, when media outlets and book festivals started asking me about my experience writing about (gulp) history in advance of my magical realism novel time-hopping back twenty years, I nearly fell out of my office chair. Front tuck, crossbody purse, and all. Don’t even ask about my hair part because I keep forgetting the rules. One wrong breath and we’re cringe.
And yet, deep down, core millennials know the truth of our coolness because it was forged in the absence of screens: analog and unshakable. We had original iPods. We planned weddings pre-Pinterest. We wore UGG boots with skirts and no shame. Grey’s Anatomy was just getting started—to think!
In my new contemporary novel, Twenty Something Else, my forty-year-old heroine Sutton travels back to her twenties after getting knocked out in a pickleball accident. Given the chance to relive that decade, she retraces many of the same emotional roads I once walked. Which meant revisiting glorious bygones like low-rise jeans, digital cameras, and printed-out MapQuest directions. Nobody had a smartphone. Only students had Facebook. Everybody had Rainbow flip-flops.
While reading my novel, a friend from college recently asked me, “Did you do a lot of research to remember this time so well? I forgot about the small details until I read them, then pow—transported!”
Her question got me thinking. Maybe the 2000s really are iconic. Maybe I was drawn to revisit them for a reason. Maybe twenty years is enough passage of time to make me a historian!
In any case, I did take a certain approach to writing this novel—and I loved every minute. If you’d like, join me in harkening back to how I rewrote the 2000s.
Photographs. So many photographs.
Pictures of college, birthdays, trips, parties, outfits—I pored over old Facebook albums and celebrity photos online. One image could transport me back to a dorm room, a weekend trip, or the exact purse I carried to parties.
Intentional time with my memories.
Admittedly, I have a strong memory, but I wanted Sutton’s world to really sparkle and pop. My writing process involved documents filled with everything I could remember about the years she relives, down to the songs, slang, T-shirts, and everyday rituals. I spent considerable, intentional time journaling, listing—remembering.
Focus on the feelings more than the ’fits.
I tried not to cram in references simply for nostalgia’s sake. In my novel, yes, you might see Britney Spears’s name and jump-scare back to Citizens of Humanity jeans. But those references are almost always tied to sensory details, character revelations, or emotional turning points.
I wasn’t trying to re-create the 2000s exactly. I was trying to re-create the feeling of becoming, no matter the year. The uncertainty. The pressure. The hope. The aching desire to learn who you are and what’s next. The time-stamped details were fun, yes—but they were also functional. They grounded Sutton’s emotional journey in a world that feels both long ago and strangely close.
I love talking to historical fiction authors about their process, though theirs is typically far more comprehensive than mine was for Twenty Something Else. No years of research, thick notebooks, or multiple interviews for me. Instead of library archives, I had Facebook albums. Instead of textbooks, I had reflection. And yet, the similarities are undeniable.
I revisited the past with my pen, even if it was recent. And I hope Sutton’s story brings nostalgia to those who lived through the era—and relatability to younger readers who didn’t. More than anything, I hope Twenty Something Else invites not only recollection, but reflection. Maybe even the nudge to revisit our own lives with fresh perspective and grace.
Because the 2000s and 2010s may have served as my fictional backdrop, but before that, they were my teacher. They were my playground. They were, simply, my life.
And maybe that’s why hearing Natasha Bedingfield still does it for me all these years later. Some seasons of life may be over, but here I am rewriting them anyway.
Twenty Something Else by Stephanie Mack
Sutton Layne is almost-forty and fabulous, with a happy marriage, three beautiful children, and a successful interior design business. But there’s plenty of chaos behind the scenes of early midlife. Her preteen son is going off the rails, her husband is bailing on the party he was supposed to throw her, and that thriving business? If she can’t land her next big client, it might all come crashing down. Then a surprise DM from someone in her past sends her spiraling into what-ifs. What if she settled down too young? Walked away from her big break? Never had her great adventure?
Despite her simmering mini-crisis, Sutton can’t wait for the birthday luncheon and pickleball tournament her friends have planned in her honor. But when an accident on the court knocks her out cold, she wakes up somewhere else . . . and is offered the chance to do it all over again. She can revisit her twenties—out of order and on her own terms. And this time around, anything goes: cities, careers, friendships. Even love.
From star-studded Hollywood nights to the jungles of Nicaragua, from the heat of Coachella to the snowy summit of the Matterhorn, Sutton chases the life she fears she might have missed, with unexpected results.
With a wink to the classic It’s a Wonderful Life, Twenty Something Else is a witty, wistful journey through the dreams we outgrow, the life choices that shape us, and the surprising detours that can lead us home.
Stephanie Mack is an author, speaker, and podcast host with a passion for the art of great storytelling. Her novels blend women’s fiction and romantic elements with meaningful insights for readers navigating the complexities of modern life.
Throughout her career, Stephanie has been trusted to craft language for individuals, publications, and Fortune 500 companies. As a podcast host, she has interviewed numerous New York Times bestselling authors and literary stars. Stephanie’s work has also appeared on Scary Mommy, Faithit, Coffee + Crumbs, and more.
Stephanie lives in Orange County, California, with her husband and three daughters, balancing motherhood, creativity, and community. She invites readers to connect with her on social media and through her newsletter, where she shares book recommendations, behind-the-scenes insights, and conversations about life and womanhood.
Learn more at stephaniemack.com.