"Don't forget to live" is so important. A lot of American fiction has a hothouse quality right now: Writers are writing about being writers in academic writing programs!

So many authors don't seem to have lived enough to know about anything else. The problem is that even if their writing is very well done, you can get tired of reading novels about conflicts in university English departments. I've written about this in passing but may say more, because this issue isn't going away.

I do think your son will gain the distance he needs and wish him good luck with it. It takes time, but fortunately, in your 20s, time is something you still have.