Purpose: This study explored the lived experiences of young adults with schizophrenia through narrative inquiry. It focused on how developmental tasks intersect with illness experiences and their implications for recoveryoriented nursing practice. Methods: Three young adults aged 19-34 years diagnosed with schizophrenia were recruited from a community mental health center. Data were collected through seven to nine in-depth interviews and participant observations conducted between January and November 2018. The field texts comprised interview transcripts, research notes, recovery writings, symptom diaries, and creative works. Data were analyzed using Connelly and Clandinin’s narrative inquiry procedures. Results: Four themes were identified: (1) deprivation of warmth and trust, highlighting the need for trauma-informed care; (2) frustrated desires and the strength to endure, indicating the meaning embedded in symptoms; (3) youth disrupted by illness, reflecting thwarted developmental tasks; and (4) courage to live together, underscoring the power of relationships and support. Symptoms were treated as meaningful efforts to endure adversity, rather than purely pathological phenomena. Conclusion: A composite picture of the lives of young adults with schizophrenia emerged: as journeys of hopeful variations amid adversity. The findings underscore the need for trauma-informed and developmentally attuned care, multi-layered support systems, and narrative-based interventions to strengthen recovery-oriented nursing practice.