What I Know Now: Letters to my Younger Self

What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self (edited by Ellyn Spragins) was the book club selection this month. Toni had read it before and just re-read it this month, but it was my first time reading it.

To be honest, before I began reading this book, I was a little skeptical. I used to be really into all of those "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books and I thought it would be like one of those. I figured this book might be a nice read but wouldn't give us a lot of material to discuss in book club. 

Although book club doesn't meet for another couple weeks, I finished this book last night and was pleasantly surprised. The premise of the book is this: the editor, Ellyn Spragins, asked a bunch of famous, powerful and well-known women (Macy Gray, Maya Angelou, Vanna White, and Madeline Albright were among them) to look back on a difficult time in their lives, and to write a letter to their younger self. The women approached this task in a variety of ways. Some women seemed to reflect on a regret that they had about their past, urging their younger selves to choose a different path. Other women chose to encourage or praise their younger selves. Others tried to reassure their younger selves that even though things seem difficult at the time, they will get better.

This book made me think a lot about regret, which some people reflect in their letters. I've always had trouble with this idea, because ultimately, whether you're happy about your past or not, you can't do anything to change it. You can only learn from your mistakes and avoid making the same ones in the future. Also, our past makes us who we are. I believe that we shouldn't wish we'd done things differently because if we had, we wouldn't be who we are today. So I wondered to myself, what's the purpose of writing a letter to your younger self if it won't change anything? Isn't it a futile exercise?

But the more I read on, the more I realized that this exercise did have meaning, as much for the writer as for the reader. For one thing, it allows the reader to put things into perspective. Often when we get past a tough time in our lives, we don't want to turn back. We want to put it behind us. We forget just how difficult it was. Also, it's easy for us to judge our younger selves, and to be hard on our younger selves. I think writing these letters (and reading them) helps us to remember how difficult things were, and from there, we can see how much things have improved, how much we've grown, and how far we've come. And that helps us to appreciate where we are and what we have today.

Overall, I would recommend this book, especially to someone who is going through a difficult time in life and needs a little encouragement. It does a great job of reminding readers that if you're going through a tough time, it means that happier days are around the corner. I think at times, everyone needs that message. (This book would make a great mother's day gift!!)

--- Emily