Letters to My Daughters

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Tribute!
Review: Letters To My Daughters by talented writer Mary Matalin is such a moving book and loving tribute. I would recommend it to anyone to share with their children!

Rating:
Summary: First chapter made me cry
Review: Mary's book touched me deeply because like her, I lost my mother before I got married and had a child (a daughter). Like her, I read everything I could get my hands on, from Spock to Sears, but nothing filled the huge void created by my mother's untimely death at 52 (Matalin's died at 50). While her specific advice to her girls may not be earthshattering in its originality, it serves as a poignant reminder to all of us parents that we just might not be around to tell our kids what we'd want them to hear from us first. I will use this book as a jumping off point for letters to my own baby girl. In this busy world we live in, it's far too easy to think we'll get around to teaching our kids important life-lessons "when the time comes," but before we know it, they're grown and all-too-often, our busy lives have gotten in the way of those all-too-important conversations. If you have a daughter, of any age, read this book. A great mother's day gift too!

Rating:
Summary: worth reading, but could go deeper
Review: This is a fine book as far as it goes. As a parent who knows that there are no easy answers, I appreciate the fact that she doesn't give a toolkit or a formula for childraising or growing up. But there is a book out there with a surprisingly parallel title, Letters to My Son, by Kent Nerburn, that is a truly brilliant work that deserves to be read along side this or any other parenting book. I have daughters as well as a son. I would give both these books to my children of both genders. Don't be seduced by Matalin's high profile. There are other authors out there who have as much to say. Give Matalin her due; she's done a good job. But if you want more wisdom and less psychology, get Nerburn's book as well.