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The Anytime Book

The Anytime Book, United States Edition

A map for joining the world — at any age, from any starting point.
How to use this bookIf you are not safe, start here

This book is a map, not a test. You don’t have to read it in order. You can’t fall behind, and you can’t fail it. There is no grade at the end.

Maybe no one taught you the things in here. That is not your fault. A lot of people reach adulthood without these skills — people who were home-schooled, kept apart from others, raised in a strict group, or who came from another country or another world. The skills can still be learned. People learn them every day. So can you.

Take what helps. Leave the rest. Come back any time.

This is the United States Edition: the programs, phone numbers, and laws in it are for the US. Live somewhere else? Help make your country’s edition.

The Areas

Section titled “The Areas”
1. First ThingsThe basics that sit under everything else.
2. Safety and Getting StartedProof you exist, a safe place, food, a phone, a way to get around.
3. Your Mind and FeelingsUnderstanding what happened, calming down, and knowing who you are.
4. MoneyKeeping it, growing it, and not losing it to traps.
5. A Home and Daily LifeA place to live and how to run it.
6. Health and Your BodyDoctors, dentists, medicine, and staying well.
7. Talking to People and the WorldPhones, paperwork, friends, and fitting in.
8. Learning and WorkSchool, skills, and a job.
9. Big Life DecisionsRights, leaving family safely, cars, kids, and the long road.
10. Fun, Rest, and Being YouThe part that makes the rest worth it.