What I Know Now

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by Ellyn Spragins

What would you write in a letter to your younger self if you could send it back in time?

In this touching collection, forty-one well-known women write letters to the women they used to be, offering guidance and insights they wish they had when they were younger.

"It is important to be brave about who you really are," Today show correspondent Ann Curry writes to herself as a rookie reporter in her first position, advising herself not to alter too much to fit in. Lee Ann Womack, the country music superstar, recalls on the stressful year she spent creating her debut album and advises her younger self to appreciate the present rather than the eventual product. "Your hair matters far, far less than you think," starts the letter popular mystery author Lisa Scottoline writes to herself when she was twenty. Maya Angelou, who left home at seventeen with a newborn infant in her arms, is confident in her ability to flourish on her own, even if she does return home from time to time.

Madeleine Albright, Queen Noor of Jordan, Cokie Roberts, Naomi Wolf, Eileen Fisher, Jane Kaczmarek, Olympia Dukakis, Macy Gray, and many others join these exceptional women. Their letters provide readers rare views into the inner lives of outstanding women as well as compelling wisdom.