Lane Moore’s new book is required reading for millennials

“The first time I remember describing my family as ‘nonexistent’ was in middle school, when I described myself as ‘the asexual offspring of a tree’ in an attempt to make total abandonment, in the face of very alive parents, sound super chill,” begins Lane Moore in “How to Be Alone (If You Want To, And Even If You Don’t)” (Atria Books), out Tuesday.

The book of essays by Moore, the former Sex & Relationships editor for Cosmopolitan and host of the comedy show “Tinder Live,” pulls no punches in its exploration of what it means for someone to navigate life and relationships when their childhood lacked a baseline of warmth, love and parental support. (Her father, as Moore explains, held the family hostage with his anger and verbal abuse; her mother was “so shattered from [this], that it was like she was dead.”

You’ll chuckle through some paragraphs as she reminisces about her first apartment in NYC, which boasted a literal dirt floor, before being punched in the gut by sad, sharp observations. But what keeps “How to be Alone” from being an outright tragedy is the act of Moore giving voice to her experience through stories that are funny, moving, observant and vulnerable. Her childhood could have so easily given her a tough shell; instead it did the opposite. Readers will find themselves in her stories, and even if they don’t, they will come away from this book having learned something. A great book for all ages but should be required reading for twenty-somethings navigating young adulthood.