A Life in Letters: Ann Landers' Letters to Her Only Child - Hardcover

Howard, Margo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0446532711 ISBN 13: 9780446532716

Publisher: Warner Books, 2003

Synopsis

America's most beloved columnist shares 40 years of advice through letters to her only child, published here for the first time. In this witty, wise, and intensely personal collection of letters to her daughter Margo, Ann Landers delivers her own unintentional memoir. The volume is both a moving portrait of a mother/daughter relationship and a keen social history of America between 1958 and 2001. Peppered with incisive information and gossip, Esther 'Eppie' Lederer (Landers' real name) offers insight on everything from marriage and divorce to growing up and growing old. A first-hand account of the myriad changes in attitudes and mores spanning the last half of the last century, readers will delight in Landers' signature practical wisdom and sharp eye for the absurd. As funny and loving as they are stern and acerbic, these letters reveal the real woman behind the Ann Landers moniker-a spectacularly original writer, wife, and mother.

About this title

About the Author

Margo Howard lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband.

Reviews

Landers (1918-2002) penned thousands of letters to troubled strangers during her many newspaper years, but in writing to her daughter, the advice columnist's personality comes through with more clarity than was ever evident in her published work. Howard has amassed a staggering collection of Landers's letters, which span 40 years and range widely in subject matter and tone. Several notes refer to the famous feud between Landers and her twin sister, Pauline (aka Dear Abby). There are gossipy moments, as when Landers writes about a socialite who's had a facelift so disastrous she's unrecognizable. Unfortunately for those who like such dish, Howard is disappointingly ethical, concealing names and identifying information. However, this strategy is effective in taking the attention away from the occasional catty jab and focusing more closely on the book's real strength, which is showing Landers as the loving, flawed, sometimes even surprisingly dull person that she was. Beyond the occasional mentions of celebrities or TV appearances, the columnist's letters are simply notes mailed from a mother to a daughter, and anyone who's sent or received similar missives will feel pangs of identification. There's praise and encouragement, shock over allowance squandering during college days and, quite often, a healthy dose of nagging. Some letters are downright yawn inducing, with sentences like, "Daddy and I are planning on coming to Parents' weekend on Friday." While these kinds of entries can be trying, they provide a profile of Landers that will thrill fans of her work and be of interest to letter-writing mothers and daughters everywhere.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Howard, the only child of Landers (aka Eppie Ledderer), has already written a memoir of her mother, so this time out she offers a book comprised of the letters sent to her by Eppie, organized chronologically by events in Howard's life. This is not a particularly satisfying approach, especially in the early going when Howard is in college, and there's not much of general interest. Things pick up as Landers becomes more famous and begins hobnobbing with celebrities. Still, to protect her mother and others, Howard leaves out many names, the most intriguing being the married man with whom Landers had an affair after her divorce. Ilene Cooper
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Edition details

• Publisher: Warner Books
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0446532711
• ISBN 13: 9780446532716
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 391