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| | Issue #19.40 :: 04/30/2008 - 05/06/2008 | “If I’d Known Then: Women in Their 20s and 30s Write Letters to Their Younger Selves”
Ellyn Spragins
| BY J. EDWARD SUMERAU
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“If I’d Known Then: Women in Their 20s and 30s Write Letters to Their Younger Selves”
By Ellyn Spragins
AUGUSTA, GA - Quite recently, Brad Paisley took control of country music radio with a song about writing a letter for his younger self to find.
Throughout the song, Paisley offered mature advice for the harder moments he remembered, and in so doing, spoke to the desire of millions of people who look back on life realizing that many of the worries their younger selves held onto dearly were not of much significance in the larger picture. Grabbing onto this desire to advise the youth, Editor Ellyn Spragins offers a fantastic collection of letters written by women in their twenties offering advice to the next generation of women including a contribution Kimberly Williams Paisley. “If I’d Known Then: Women in Their 20s and 30s Write Letters to Their Younger Selves” is a stunning collection of intimate thought and advice handed down by a cavalcade of successful women handed down to the next generation in hopes of educating and comforting the anxieties of youth.
Living in Pennington, New Jersey, Ellyn Spragins is a well-known public speaker and writer. A former columnist for The New York Times, Spragins is the author of the bestselling “What I Know Now," and delivers seminars on growth and inspiration in her "What I Know Now" series. Following in this tradition, her latest book takes a look at what a wide range of women know about life that could help others.
Touching on a menagerie of themes in the passage of youth, this collection provides a guiding light in the tough moments of adolescence. Girls concerned about mixed heritage and ethnicity, waiting by the phone for calls from boys, the possibilities of abusive marriages, bullies and teasing, and even low self esteem will find helpful thoughts and memories within these pages. Whether concerned about body image issues or trying to understand how to reach dreams, girls will find a massive display of know how and understanding in the letters of this collection.
A highlight of the collection is the display of many well-known names alongside new voices in the world. Readers will find actresses like Jessica Alba and Kimberly Paisley Williams, writers like Hope Edelman and Ashley Warlick, songwriters like Natasha Bedingfield and Mya Harrison in the celebrity folds of the collection combined with the power of lesser known women of the world. Some of the lesser-known women include the founder of Spanx, Sara Blakely, and the Founder of Women for Women International, Zainab Salbi, who both tell fascinating tales of development in their letters. Along the way, readers will meet inventors, Olympians, artists, and entrepreneurs who’ve been where they are and found a way through the battlefield of youth.
On sale at major bookstores and online on May 1, this collection may be the perfect gift for the graduation season. Bubbling with intimate voices of perseverance and passion in the face of challenges, Spragins’ collection is a testament to experience as a mentor, and within the pages of this wonderful collection, the girls of today may find hope in the successful women of the recent past.
Spragins, Ellyn. “If I’d Known Then: Women in Their 20s and 30s Write Letters to Their Younger Selves.” Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. 2008. 182pp. $18.00. ISBN: 9780738211206.
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