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12th out of 15 books
—
14 voters
What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self
If you could send a letter back through time to your younger self, what would the letter say?
In this moving collection, forty-one famous women write letters to the women they once were, filled with advice and insights they wish they had had when they were younger.
Today show correspondent Ann Curry writes to herself as a rookie reporter in her first job, telling herself no...more
In this moving collection, forty-one famous women write letters to the women they once were, filled with advice and insights they wish they had had when they were younger.
Today show correspondent Ann Curry writes to herself as a rookie reporter in her first job, telling herself no...more
Hardcover, 208 pages
Published
April 4th 2006
by Harmony
(first published 2006)
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Very inspiring!!!
I really enjoyed this book. The description reads "Extraordinary Women Share the Wisdom They Wish They'd Had When They Were Younger." The amazing part is that although the women are amazing...the struggles they face are ordinary- just the same as I and others face. So, I really enjoyed reading their perspective and advice to themselves.
Here is a portion from Cokie Roberts letter to herself when she was a young mother:
"Dear Cokie, ...Being the mother of two tiny kids frazzles y...more
I really enjoyed this book. The description reads "Extraordinary Women Share the Wisdom They Wish They'd Had When They Were Younger." The amazing part is that although the women are amazing...the struggles they face are ordinary- just the same as I and others face. So, I really enjoyed reading their perspective and advice to themselves.
Here is a portion from Cokie Roberts letter to herself when she was a young mother:
"Dear Cokie, ...Being the mother of two tiny kids frazzles y...more
This book was interesting in that it makes you ask yourself what you would tell your younger self at some critical time in your life. What knowledge do you have now that you wish you had then? What's interesting is most often the advice was not anything concrete like, "Don't marry that guy," or "Go ahead and move to California." It was more like, stop wasting so much time trying to please other people. Take the time to enjoy your success. Or for some of the women who lost loved ones too soon--sp...more
I agree with many that the letters are not super profound for the most part. Many are sort of boring and self-indulgent. I remember being very moved by the woman who could not get pregnant and adopted children. One thing that I thought was interesting was that many of the women wanted to tell themselves how to get through a harder time quicker when in reality it seems as if the long struggle made them who they are today. Also, due to the current wealth of many of the women I felt that their advi...more
Jun 22, 2008
Kate
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Late Twenties, or just feeling lost
Recommended to Kate by:
Bas Bleu
I was quite hoping to be one of the many 'younger selves' in this book. The book itself was a great read; you 'meet' so many people you have heard of before, and other not-so in the newspapers everday people. It was an inspirational read on a slightly deeper level for me, however I failed to identify with anyone person included in the book. I was hoping to find out I was like a young Cokie Roberts or Maya Angelou, that we have the same potential, and that their words might help guide me. But, I'...more
"This is wonderful compilation of letters gathered by a woman who lost her Mom. There is something about loosing a parent, certainly a Mother that leaves an empty space. I find myself wishing to talk with my Mom about everything from how I'm doing as ...more This is wonderful compilation of letters gathered by a woman who lost her Mom. There is something about loosing a parent, certainly a Mother that leaves an empty space. I find myself wishing to talk with my Mom about everything from how I'm...more
What I Know Now Letters to My Younger Self is a great, quick read. Fascinating women share their wisdom that comes with time, life and success. What surprised and delighted me most was the humor, love and kindness these women have for their younger selves as they stumbled through a previous life crisis. Not surprisingly, balance and trust-in-self are the central messages of the letters.
I particularly loved Roz Chast’s letter to her neuroses plagued nine year old self, opening line, “You are not...more
I particularly loved Roz Chast’s letter to her neuroses plagued nine year old self, opening line, “You are not...more
A gift from my mother, this was. It was a cutesy little compilation of letters of “extraordinary women” to their younger selves. For each woman, there was a 1-2 page bio accompanied by the 1-2 paragraph letter -->a little scant, and more info would have been appreciated.
I particularly liked the bit on my childhood idol - gymnast Shannon Miller. Her letter is exactly how I imagined her life would be: extremely rewarding in her gymnastic greatness, but hampered by her instilled need to please s...more
I particularly liked the bit on my childhood idol - gymnast Shannon Miller. Her letter is exactly how I imagined her life would be: extremely rewarding in her gymnastic greatness, but hampered by her instilled need to please s...more
Words cannot describe how I felt after reading this book. My good friend Allison gave this to me and I read it coming home on the plane. I experienced laughter, tears and an awareness that I need time to reflect on how far I have come and be grateful for what I have now - which is way more than what I had back when I was 23.
oh no! apparently what I wrote as a review didn't come through...thanks Kelly for pointing it out.
Anyway, I thought there would be more depth to this, but it really *is* just a series of letters written to a woman's younger self. Reading Vana White's letter telling herself it'd be a bad idea to get photographs taken in transparent underwear wasn't a piece of advice I could use...nor wanted to know. I think this was a missed opportunity to show that hindsight can lead to wisdom, not just regrets....more
Anyway, I thought there would be more depth to this, but it really *is* just a series of letters written to a woman's younger self. Reading Vana White's letter telling herself it'd be a bad idea to get photographs taken in transparent underwear wasn't a piece of advice I could use...nor wanted to know. I think this was a missed opportunity to show that hindsight can lead to wisdom, not just regrets....more
This is a quick, inspirational little book. About a page of biographical stuff about the person and then their letter. Lots of famous and successful women are included - some of my personal favorites and some I hadn’t heard of. This would make a great graduation present for a young woman (either for college or high school).
My one complaint - it ended too abruptly. I finished Trisha Yearwood’s letter and turned the page and then boom - nothing. I was let down there weren’t more letters to read. A...more
My one complaint - it ended too abruptly. I finished Trisha Yearwood’s letter and turned the page and then boom - nothing. I was let down there weren’t more letters to read. A...more
I thought the book was very interesting. I gives good advice about peoples lives. I read a lettter of Noor Al Hussein, a former Queen of Jordan, who married King Hussein in 1978. She was idealistic and wanted to make a difference in the world. She helped the countries problems of poverty, unemployment, health, education, and women`s rights. She writes a letter to her younger self stating that she does not have to be perfect but to follow her own insticts. I believe she meant that we can learn fr...more
I loved this little simple book filled with so many wise words from so many wise women. I think Cokie Roberts was my favorite, her words on motherhood. And then maybe Barbara Boxer, and her words about how she needed to be more open to other peoples opinions. lol. I could use a bit of that myself! I would recommend this to anyone needing to know that they aren't alone with their own worries and insecurities. That so many seemingly perfectly wise, strong, inspirational women have gone through a l...more
I thought this book was an excellent read for girls who becoming adults. I enjoyed seeing inside the life and minds of some actors, novelists, sports stars, etc. It was relieving for me to know that they are just like everybody else, and have the same doubts and life situations. It's not a hard read, but it is worth it!
"Try more things. Cross some lines. Learning to swim won't stop you from reading Shakespeare. Finding your voice won't stop you from writing novels. You should be cooking on all...more
"Try more things. Cross some lines. Learning to swim won't stop you from reading Shakespeare. Finding your voice won't stop you from writing novels. You should be cooking on all...more
This book is a great insightful read. It really helped me see so many different perspectives and has inspired me to write my own letter to myself. The best thing about this book was that each letter was totally different so the book never got boring in the sense that there was always a changing perspective. The one thing I didn't like were the intros to the letters. The author assumed the reader knew too much and didn't give enough information and left me wanting to know more about the writer of...more
I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was mostly hoping it wasn't a "Chicken Soup for the Soul" type book. I was intrigued by some of the women who are included in the book. While this isn't a new book by any means, it is relevant, and will be, forever. Life lessons are timeless.
The concept behind the book is exactly what the title says, letters of advice/guidance to the woman's younger self.
The letters themselves are heartfelt, soul baring, and insightful. I'm in awe that...more
The good news is that this book only takes about an hour to read. The bad news is that I spent an hour reading this book. I liked the idea of the book, but it just did not have much substance. Given the chance, I'd rate it at 1.5 stars.
The letters all had similar tones and read like a high school commencement address. "Be true to yourself." "The best is yet to come." "Be kind to others and do not judge too quickly."
The paragraphs introducing each woman were somewhat interesting. However, they w...more
The letters all had similar tones and read like a high school commencement address. "Be true to yourself." "The best is yet to come." "Be kind to others and do not judge too quickly."
The paragraphs introducing each woman were somewhat interesting. However, they w...more
I picked this book to read at first because I thought it would be inspiring and the book was exactly like I thought. It was intriguing and uplifting. All of the famous womens stories were all different and some were good or sad, but they all meant something.
This book was very detailed and and kept my attention. Each individual famous woman had their own story and were not afraid to share it. The author gave some background information about their story and then the famous woman would write a l...more
This book was very detailed and and kept my attention. Each individual famous woman had their own story and were not afraid to share it. The author gave some background information about their story and then the famous woman would write a l...more
This is a real quick... maybe a 'bathroom' read. I actually read it all in one sitting, but its like a book of inspirational quotes... its almost lost on you if you take it all in at once. Anyway, the author had all these smart/powerful women write letters to their younger selves giving advice, etc. Its cool, and almost inspiring. It made me really respect some people that I had never even thought of before (Warren Buffet's wife... based on their daughter's letter).
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I, like some other reviewers, was really hoping that I would be one of the 'younger selves' written to in the book and that I would get great advice as someone beginning my first job and entering a new stage of my life. I instead found the letters very shallow and the only good thing I really got from the famous women was references to several worthy quotes. A decent way to waste a lazy afternoon but there are definitely much better things to read with your time.
A collection of letters written by women to their younger selves, sharing lessons learned and bits of wisdom from their older selves. Ahhhh , as we mature....we all grow and learn. And as generous women we share and hope our daugthers , granddaugthers, nieces, and friends will learn valuable lessons from our own past experiences. Some messages in this book we have heard before, "learn to say no"..".listen to your inner voice" . Others are more insightfull. An easy read.
This wasn't quite what I was expecting... Each contributing woman had a segment introduction and then their letter which was addressed to themselves during a specific point in their earlier years. There were a few that were emotional, but some just lacked some sort of a connection.
As a reader, it does make me think, what would I write to my younger self? What age "me" would I address? Even better, what would the future me be writing me now?
As a reader, it does make me think, what would I write to my younger self? What age "me" would I address? Even better, what would the future me be writing me now?
Kind of a disappointment...partially my fault though. I had this on my PBS wishlist for quite awhile so I was happy for it to finally arrive a couple of days ago. It wasn't what I expected (I thought it was memoir...couldn't see the tiny print that listed the contributors in the thumbnail!) but I figured it would still be interesting. There are a lot of admirable women who have done some extraordinary things. I found that by the end of the book though, I liked most of them a lot less. The book j...more
I wanted to read this book because I had read that it was one of Taylor Swift's favorites. Its a collection of letters women write to their younger self about things they have learned. I didn't know most of the names in this book, so I think I would've liked it better if it had more recent women in it. I was actually more interested in the little blurbs about the woman than I was about their letter. Though it did make me think of what I would write to my younger self.
I have no idea where this book came from. I don't remember receiving it as a gift, and I don't remember buying it. But I found it on the bookshelf in my guest room, and after deciding to give it a try, decided that it was fate when I read the introduction:
"I sought the insights of these remakrable women for a very simple reason. I miss my mother. She died in a plane crash when I was thirty-two. This was the first tragedy that ever befell my fortunate fmaily and it seemed like an astonishing, the...more
"I sought the insights of these remakrable women for a very simple reason. I miss my mother. She died in a plane crash when I was thirty-two. This was the first tragedy that ever befell my fortunate fmaily and it seemed like an astonishing, the...more
there were a couple of good lines from individual letters, but i expected something a bit more in depth than what i got. it's largely a bunch of letters from women to their younger selves telling them not to worry about what other people think of them. i was hoping for a more diverse set of messages. also, i had been most excited about naomi wolf's letter, but it was a sore disappointment.
I liked the idea behind this book more than the book itself. Some of the contributors I found much more interesting and relatable to my life than others...and from them I found great insight. (My favorites were Olympia Dukakis, Cokie Roberts, & Eileen Fisher) Overall however I wasn't overly amazed by the content or the collection of contributors included.
This book was given to me as a Christmas present by a very loving and pleasant woman. It is the best gift ever. I look to it for inspiration whenever I feel hopeless and down. It consists of collections of letters by inspirational and strong women who wrote to themselves at a younger age when they were lost or had a hard time.
Not necessarily a book to sit down and read all at one time. Composed of short chapters detailing each woman with a quick summary and then their letter to themselves, it gets a bit monotonous. Most of the women talk about personal moments specific to their lives which creates the need for the reader to somehow relate that to their own lives.
I like the idea, but I wish that the letters would have been longer and more involved. I would have been more interested in reading similar letters written by real, average women instead of Successful Women We're Supposed To Emulate. It seemed like it was written for suburban soccer moms in need of ~*inspiration*~.
This was a quick read. The author compiled "letters" written by women to their younger selves. While there were some really good essays, I think I love the idea of the book more than the book itself. What advice would you give to a younger you? I like that this book gave me lots to think about.
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Oct 29, 2007 07:23am