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52 Cups of Coffee: Inspiring and Insightful Stories for Navigating Life's Uncertainties
When Megan Gebhart graduated college in 2011, she knew she couldn't resign herself to life at an aimless 9-to-5 job climbing the corporate ladder. So instead, she challenged herself to have a single cup of coffee with a different person every week for a year to see what lessons she could learn about life and careers. What started out as a strange, unconventional, and slightly awkward experiment soon transformed into a year filled with adventure, hardship, courage, and personal growth. Whether she's grabbing a grande coffee with a former Starbuck's Vice President, discussing recess politics with a first grader, or debating talent with the co-founder of Apple, Megan's enthusiasm and empathy coax the best advice from every walk of life. As a whole, 52 Cups of Coffee chronicles one young woman's daring and heartfelt first foray into life after college. Separately, each cup delivers a daily dose of inspiration—a perfect pairing for a morning cup of joe.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 12, 2014
190 people are currently reading
1501 people want to read
About the author
Megan Gebhart
2 books6 followersMegan Gebhart is the creator of 52 Cups of Coffee, a website dedicated to the power of connection. It started in 2010 as an experiment in caffeine and conversation: each week for a year she had coffee with someone she didn’t know and wrote about what she learned in the process.
Megan’s experiment led her to adventures and interviews across 29 cities and 7 countries. She interviewed a diverse set of individuals; from thought leaders like best-selling author Seth Godin and Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak to everyday folks with unexpected lessons to share: a dairy farmer, a second grader and an 86 year-old grandma who grew up during WWII. Her stories blend inspiring life stories with lessons that illustrate how finding ourselves is a journey that can last a lifetime.
Megan’s experiment led her to adventures and interviews across 29 cities and 7 countries. She interviewed a diverse set of individuals; from thought leaders like best-selling author Seth Godin and Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak to everyday folks with unexpected lessons to share: a dairy farmer, a second grader and an 86 year-old grandma who grew up during WWII. Her stories blend inspiring life stories with lessons that illustrate how finding ourselves is a journey that can last a lifetime.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
May 21, 2015
This is probably the neatest idea I've come across this decade. Maybe. I dunno, I'm getting old and can't remember things anymore so I might be totally wrong but this is definitely the neatest idea I can remember from the last decade.
If you read the book summary, you know that Megan was approaching college graduation and wasn't sure what she was going to do with her life after academia spit her out. She decided to talk to people who were doing things with their lives in order to hear what it was like on the outside. She started small with locals and wound up traveling the world, interviewing interesting humans who were living both exceptional and non-exceptional lives. She talked to some famous people (Steve Wozniak, Seth Godin) and non-famous people (a homeless person, a first grader) and pared down all the stories to the lessons she found therein.
It's all here on her blog: http://www.52cups.com/checklist
The book is the same thing in print format.
As I mentioned in my comments below, this was, for me, definitely something to be read piecemeal. In her introduction, she says these cups, as she calls each chapter/post, don't have to be read consecutively, though there's no harm in doing so. I read from beginning to end because I wanted to see how her writing evolved through the course of her experiment. That, alone, was fascinating to me.
I found, however, that if I read too much in one sitting, I started to feel like an old woman in her rocker, swatting passersby with her barbed cane (because of course my cane will have spikes!) Megan is young and inexperienced. She knows this but she does what we all do at that age: Pays lip service to the fact of youth while still behaving like a know-it-all. I mean, come on, that's the very definition of college senior, right?
Her writing did progress, though. In the beginning, she seemed to have phoned it in a few times (looking at you, Cups 9, 10, and 14) but in later chapters, she’s not so obvious about her efforts or lack thereof. While her essays are all technically sound and correct (she’s great at the whole give the introduction, a three- to five-paragraph body, and then a resolution that confirms the thesis in the introduction format), they’re a bit scattered and hesitant at first, when she didn’t know what she was doing yet. By the middle, she’s comfortable and by the time she’s in Iceland (was it Iceland? I think it was Iceland), she’s old-hat at this stuff. However, that comes with a price; in her comfort, she becomes formulaic and therein lies the potential boredom.
I admit, my advanced age and general bitterness in life often leads me toward condescension and cynicism and that’s not what this book deserves so I’m going to keep my “In my day” opinions to myself and will accept this for what it is: A really cool project to help a young woman gird herself with the lessons learnt from others before she tackles the world head-on.
Good luck, Megan!
If you read the book summary, you know that Megan was approaching college graduation and wasn't sure what she was going to do with her life after academia spit her out. She decided to talk to people who were doing things with their lives in order to hear what it was like on the outside. She started small with locals and wound up traveling the world, interviewing interesting humans who were living both exceptional and non-exceptional lives. She talked to some famous people (Steve Wozniak, Seth Godin) and non-famous people (a homeless person, a first grader) and pared down all the stories to the lessons she found therein.
It's all here on her blog: http://www.52cups.com/checklist
The book is the same thing in print format.
As I mentioned in my comments below, this was, for me, definitely something to be read piecemeal. In her introduction, she says these cups, as she calls each chapter/post, don't have to be read consecutively, though there's no harm in doing so. I read from beginning to end because I wanted to see how her writing evolved through the course of her experiment. That, alone, was fascinating to me.
I found, however, that if I read too much in one sitting, I started to feel like an old woman in her rocker, swatting passersby with her barbed cane (because of course my cane will have spikes!) Megan is young and inexperienced. She knows this but she does what we all do at that age: Pays lip service to the fact of youth while still behaving like a know-it-all. I mean, come on, that's the very definition of college senior, right?
Her writing did progress, though. In the beginning, she seemed to have phoned it in a few times (looking at you, Cups 9, 10, and 14) but in later chapters, she’s not so obvious about her efforts or lack thereof. While her essays are all technically sound and correct (she’s great at the whole give the introduction, a three- to five-paragraph body, and then a resolution that confirms the thesis in the introduction format), they’re a bit scattered and hesitant at first, when she didn’t know what she was doing yet. By the middle, she’s comfortable and by the time she’s in Iceland (was it Iceland? I think it was Iceland), she’s old-hat at this stuff. However, that comes with a price; in her comfort, she becomes formulaic and therein lies the potential boredom.
I admit, my advanced age and general bitterness in life often leads me toward condescension and cynicism and that’s not what this book deserves so I’m going to keep my “In my day” opinions to myself and will accept this for what it is: A really cool project to help a young woman gird herself with the lessons learnt from others before she tackles the world head-on.
Good luck, Megan!
January 17, 2018
The most disappointing thing about this book was how much potential it had. "52 Cups of Coffee" has such an amazing premise- having 52 cups of coffee with strangers to hear about their stories and learn from them. Unfortunately, this book was nothing more than basically a copy of the person's resume and dustings of cliche "inspirational" quotes. I felt like I was reading a high school senior's college essay. Some of the people she interviewed seemed like they had such wonderful stories and so much wisdom, but she failed to replicate anything useful from the conversations except her own disorganized, and frankly irrelevant additions. For example, when talking about sacrifice, she went into an explanation about how she could relate to the major sacrifices one of her coffee date's had gone through because she too had dealt with sacrifice when she decided to join the track team and "miss out on high school fun."
The book was a quick read with a lack of dialogue or truly engaging content. To be fair, I know this was originally set up as a blog and not a book, but still. I'm sorry for the scathing review, but I had to get my frustrations off my chest!
The book was a quick read with a lack of dialogue or truly engaging content. To be fair, I know this was originally set up as a blog and not a book, but still. I'm sorry for the scathing review, but I had to get my frustrations off my chest!
September 26, 2019
I would be lying if I said this book was more than a 3/5.
First off, I want to say that Megan's experience is an inspiring one. I can't imagine going out of my way to meet a different person each week over a single cup of coffee. The further I got into this book, the more I enjoyed reading into other people's lives and seeing how they got there. I also enjoyed seeing Megan grow as a person as the book went on. Who would have thought that she would have had the adventures she had and met the people she met? The experiences are definitely worth the tales.
Unfortunately not all is good. I felt as if the writing was a bit rushed in some areas. Most conversations were written in a few pages for people with extraordinary stories. For example, you meet Priotr, and his inspiring journey. His neurological disease doesn't hold him back and he finds the best in every situation. The excitement that Priotr gets when he sees people ball is heartwarming. And in a "small world" moment, Megan is having coffee with Priotr's grandmother in Poland a few chapters on. During her journey, Megan meets a colorful cast of people who all share their own experiences and life stories. Megan even manages to meet Steve Wozniak!
But I understand, you can't write a novel for every hour conversation you have over a cup of coffee. Yet, I felt I could have learned more about the people I'm introduced to.
Also, every person has some life lesson that Megan learns. Some parts of the book I felt as if the "lesson" did not fit into the rest of a person's story. By forcing "life lessons" into each chapter, I felt as if Megan was fitting square pegs in circular holes. Every conversation doesn't have to be a life changing. Stories could have been better if Megan removed the "lessons" and the reader was to decide their own meaning to each story. That opens the room for self-interpretation that the reader is already going to have.
With the short chapters and the forced lessons, I felt that this book stretched itself too thin. I understand if Megan doesn't want to copy Humans of New York or Chicken Soup for the Soul. But this book felt as if something essential is missing. A great idea has missed its mark. The book left me craving for more. What happened to everyone involved? Where is the resolution?
Maybe this yearning for resolution will push me to start my own 52 Cups of Coffee adventure. Maybe not.
First off, I want to say that Megan's experience is an inspiring one. I can't imagine going out of my way to meet a different person each week over a single cup of coffee. The further I got into this book, the more I enjoyed reading into other people's lives and seeing how they got there. I also enjoyed seeing Megan grow as a person as the book went on. Who would have thought that she would have had the adventures she had and met the people she met? The experiences are definitely worth the tales.
Unfortunately not all is good. I felt as if the writing was a bit rushed in some areas. Most conversations were written in a few pages for people with extraordinary stories. For example, you meet Priotr, and his inspiring journey. His neurological disease doesn't hold him back and he finds the best in every situation. The excitement that Priotr gets when he sees people ball is heartwarming. And in a "small world" moment, Megan is having coffee with Priotr's grandmother in Poland a few chapters on. During her journey, Megan meets a colorful cast of people who all share their own experiences and life stories. Megan even manages to meet Steve Wozniak!
But I understand, you can't write a novel for every hour conversation you have over a cup of coffee. Yet, I felt I could have learned more about the people I'm introduced to.
Also, every person has some life lesson that Megan learns. Some parts of the book I felt as if the "lesson" did not fit into the rest of a person's story. By forcing "life lessons" into each chapter, I felt as if Megan was fitting square pegs in circular holes. Every conversation doesn't have to be a life changing. Stories could have been better if Megan removed the "lessons" and the reader was to decide their own meaning to each story. That opens the room for self-interpretation that the reader is already going to have.
With the short chapters and the forced lessons, I felt that this book stretched itself too thin. I understand if Megan doesn't want to copy Humans of New York or Chicken Soup for the Soul. But this book felt as if something essential is missing. A great idea has missed its mark. The book left me craving for more. What happened to everyone involved? Where is the resolution?
Maybe this yearning for resolution will push me to start my own 52 Cups of Coffee adventure. Maybe not.
January 19, 2022
Short & digestible lessons learned from the various people the author met over coffee/tea, which include people from small towns all the way to Steve Wozniak and Tom Izzo. Very easy but fun read.
August 27, 2015
As several others already stated: neat idea - and that's what the third star is for. The project is amazing.
Anyhow... the original format of this documentation is a blog, and it shows. At times, they seem awfully short, the story of a very interesting person cut short to a few lines summing up the cornerstones of their CVs. The focus is, understandably on the personal experience of the author.
In a book, I somehow expect a bit more than online -- better transitions, deeper reflections, ... but well, that's certainly personal taste.
But hey, perfect read for short bus/train rides -- the episodes only fill about ten pages each, they are hardly inter-related, it is thus easy to interrupt the reading whenever necessary.
Anyhow... the original format of this documentation is a blog, and it shows. At times, they seem awfully short, the story of a very interesting person cut short to a few lines summing up the cornerstones of their CVs. The focus is, understandably on the personal experience of the author.
In a book, I somehow expect a bit more than online -- better transitions, deeper reflections, ... but well, that's certainly personal taste.
But hey, perfect read for short bus/train rides -- the episodes only fill about ten pages each, they are hardly inter-related, it is thus easy to interrupt the reading whenever necessary.
May 21, 2016
This book was a great idea and had lots of potential. I found that it was written like a school essay, and lacked depth. Rather than spend time talking about the type of coffee she drank and providing a summary of the interview, I wish she would have picked a few key points and really reflected on those. Often there was more background information about the person she met with than their actual conversation. I read the first 5, then flipped through a couple of the prominent names. but ultimately I did not finish this book.
Pass on this one, there are many other great books out there.
Pass on this one, there are many other great books out there.
August 5, 2016
In theory, the concept for this novel is incredible. However, each chapter ends the way a 90s sitcom would: perfectly tied up ends with a generic life lesson. With how interesting this could have been, I say this book was a bit of a letdown.
February 17, 2016
3.5 stars. While this book is in dire need of a copy editor and it is a bit trite (as another reviewer mentioned), I still found it inspiring at times.
July 21, 2016
There were points I really enjoyed reading about in this book. At times it did feel like a bit of a recruiting poster for her college, but overall a good read.
August 4, 2020
I loved the idea behind this book and the execution.
June 7, 2016
I enjoyed reading this book. The advice from all of these people was very inspiring.
September 20, 2017
The only interesting things about the book were the stories of the people she met up with. Otherwise, she has limited writing skills. All the stories were basically essays with mostly the same structure: the classical one with introduction (how she met the person), middle (the person's life story) and end (the lesson... there was always a lesson. like in children's books. seriously.) And she does this thing where she compares these people's life experiences (like CEOs or people with great hardship) with her own experiences... those of a middle class 20 year old... "I like also could relate to that because I too had like a hobby in high school and it's totally the same experience" (a bit exaggerated but I promise the feeling is the same).
A shame really cause the idea is good, really good, she just needed someone else to write about these meetings...
A shame really cause the idea is good, really good, she just needed someone else to write about these meetings...
October 9, 2020
I decided not to continue reading this book because of the long introduction of every article that is written about the cup. Although every cup has a great lesson that can teach you great things about on how to live in the life. I liked the idea of her project and the method that she chose to learn from others and plan for her life after graduating from college. I would recommend the writer to summarize the lesson that she learnt in 5-6 sentence. I think it would be nicer if Megan Gerhart include some images of the cup or the café.
December 29, 2021
An inspiring book with insightful ideas. Some stories are not so intriguing, maybe because each story is really short. But the main purpose of the book I think is not telling those stories, but exposing the concept that is behind every story: meeting new people and learning new things through knowing their lives. This book has remarked to me the importance to know new and strange people and the benefits of growing my network. The idea of making a cup of coffee every week with each time a different and new person is inspiring: it will be beautiful if I do a similar experience!
January 30, 2018
What an inspiring book! Megan Gebhart is about to graduate from Michigan State University and is scared about getting the right job right away. So she decides to have coffee once a week with someone who can give good advice and blog about it. She does get great advice and gets to meet 51 very interesting and successful people. She finds out that failure is good, life rarely goes according to plan, every career plan is unique, and many more ideas. It is a great book to give to graduates.
March 3, 2018
I was excited to read this book. However, i have a say that I am a bit disappointed now that I’ve read it. I did not enjoy the author’s storytelling style at all; it was a bit dull. I felt the “inspiration” in lessons was a bit forced. I really enjoyed the concept of the books. Perhaps if it had pictures of the people interviewed and a more engaging style of writing it would’ve been more interesting... I honestly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
January 28, 2021
I really enjoyed this book, Megan’s experiences meeting so many new people were really interesting. I did feel like some of the advice felt kind of repetitive, and the way she described sitting down with some of the people seemed kind of impersonal, since while she got to know the person, she didn’t go too in to depth for the reader. The number of high tier people she met was very impressive. Overall a good, solid read for anyone early in life looking for advice.
November 22, 2018
Haven't read it all. After 25% started to skim through my way out. It is an interesting project and idea, I see how much value it brought to Megan. But for the reader? Little. Very little. Honestly I've picked it up to be inspired for making quite similar project to happen, but not sure I was inspired.
February 20, 2019
The concept for this book is really cool—the author sat down with someone new every single week for a year to learn about the life advice they had to give. A lot of the advice I read was pretty repetitive and akin to something you might've heard during a keynote at your college graduation but there were a couple of points that stood out to me that I've bookmarked to always remember.
April 2, 2020
She got great ingredients, but over-seasoned them.
She met great people from diferent places that had fascinating stories to tell. However, the author usually recounts a colored version of those. She frequently interpreted, summarized and concluded the stories with some life lessons that were a bit over-simplified.
Again, I'd love to read a version of this where the raw stories are preserved, which gives readers a chance to reflect and understand them tacitly.
She met great people from diferent places that had fascinating stories to tell. However, the author usually recounts a colored version of those. She frequently interpreted, summarized and concluded the stories with some life lessons that were a bit over-simplified.
Again, I'd love to read a version of this where the raw stories are preserved, which gives readers a chance to reflect and understand them tacitly.
May 31, 2017
The book is an interesting experiment. Haven't come across anything like this yet. The writing could have been a lot better. In some cases, the stories end abruptly. Though the positive outlook is good, it seems overflowing at times. Still, a few things from the book have and will stay with me.
January 21, 2018
It is a very simply written book and there isn't much that is new. But every once in a while, we need reminders and this book serves that purpose. I think it is best read in bites, over time and over again.
February 22, 2018
It was an easy read. Each “cup of coffee” is a short chapter. It would be a good book for a soon-to-be college graduate. It could help a young person know how important it is to cultivate relationships and meet new people.
May 30, 2018
I really like the idea of the author to meet strangers and learn from them. Really appreciate the concept.
Sadly, it raises the expectations which I think aren't thoroughly covered in the book.
But definitely worth a read for everyone with dilemma of what choices to be made.
Sadly, it raises the expectations which I think aren't thoroughly covered in the book.
But definitely worth a read for everyone with dilemma of what choices to be made.
March 20, 2020
It was a cute book with a bunch of anecdotes. I found myself wanting to know more details about the people she was interviewing, but also tried to remember that with 52 people, it would've been a novel!
September 5, 2020
Everyone should read this book! Young or old. Just graduating high school or college or just looking for inspiration. This book is amazing, exciting, inspirational and insightful. Read it! You won’t regret it!
January 18, 2021
Cute, coffee time read.
I enjoyed the simplicity of the read. Short stories that definitely ring true for everyone. I’m glad I stepped outside to usual read for something fresh and fun
I enjoyed the simplicity of the read. Short stories that definitely ring true for everyone. I’m glad I stepped outside to usual read for something fresh and fun
August 4, 2021
Life does not end at 70. It is just starting.
Even in our senior years, dealing with family structure changes, embrace your new opportunities. Help others find their own way by sharing your experiences.
Even in our senior years, dealing with family structure changes, embrace your new opportunities. Help others find their own way by sharing your experiences.
May 19, 2019
Could make a nice graduation gift for HS kids
August 8, 2019
Loved it! Lost of great advice for someone just out of college or about to graduate.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews