Letters to a Young Sister: DeFINE Your Destiny
Hill Harper, 2008
Penguin Group
304 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781592404599
Summary
Inspirational advice and wisdom for young women from the powerhouse public speaker, star of CSI: NY, and bestselling author of Letters to a Young Brother.
• Does life sometimes seem so much harder for girls?
• Do you ever feel insecure, pressured, or confused?
• Do you wish you had someone to give you honest advice on
topics like boys, school, family, and pursuing your dreams?
• Do you want to make a positive impact on the world, but don't
even know how to begin?
Hill Harper shares powerful wisdom for young women every-where, drawing on the courageous advice of the female role models who transformed his life.
Letters to a Young Sister unfolds as a series of letters written by older brother Hill to a universal young sister. She's up against the same challenges as every young woman: from relating to her parents and dealing with peer pressure, to juggling schoolwork and crushes, and keeping faith in the face of heartache. Hill offers guidance, encouragement, personal stories, and asks his female friends to help answer some truly tough questions. Every young sister needs to know that it's okay to dream big and to deFINE her own destiny. This is a book that will educate, uplift and inspire.
Including original contributions from: Michelle Obama, Angela Basset, Gabrielle Union, Ciara, Tatyana Ali, Eve, Malinda Williams, Chanel Iman, and Kim Porter. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Aka—Francis Harper
• Birth—May 17, 1966
• Where—Iowa City, Iowa, USA
• Education—B.A., Brown University; J.D. and M.P.A., Harvard
University
• Currently—N/A
Hill Harper is an American film, television and stage actor, as well as bestselling author.
Harper was born in Iowa City, Iowa, the son of Harry Harper, a psychiatrist, and Marilyn Hill, one of the first black practicing anesthesiologists in the United States. Acting since the age of 7, Harper has told of stories in which his mother had to pour water on him just to wake him up. He said he was and still is a hard sleeper.
Harper graduated from Brown University and also graduated with a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and a Master of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Govern-ment at Harvard University. During his years at Harvard, he was a full-time member of Boston's Black Folks Theater Company, one of the oldest and most acclaimed black theater troupes in the country.
He moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting, adopting the name "Hill" as tribute to both his maternal and paternal ancestors. He broke into both film and television in 1993, doing recurring work on the Fox series Married...with Children and making his film debut in the short Confessions of a Dog. His best-known role to date is that of coroner-turned-crime-scene-investigator Sheldon Hawkes on the American TV show CSI: NY.
Harper endorsed the 10,000 Bookbags back to school backpack campaign to help local disadvantaged children with Urban Change Ministries founder Pastor Jay Cameron of the Life Center and R&B singer Ginuwine.
He is also the bestselling author of Letters to a Young Brother (2006) Letters to a Young Sister (2008), and The Conversation (2009). (Bio adapted from Wikipedia.)
Book Reviews
This book would make a wonderful gift for any teen looking to find her place in life.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Hill, speaking like an older brother, lays out his vision to young women who are confronting rough issues on how to become the architect of their own lives.
Ebony
In his follow up to his ALA award-winning self-help Letters to a Young Brother, actor and author Harper uses an epistolary format, interrupted by youth-centric digressions, to capture the hearts and minds of his audience, young women. Each chapter is a letter beginning with an uplifting quote and post-scripted with a question posed via email (the formatting is lifted whole) and answered by a famous, successful woman like Nikki Giovanni, Michelle Obama, Ruby Dee and Eve. Writing in a conversational style, Harper focuses on a variety of different issues loosely grouped into topics like blues, love, family relationships, saving money and appreciating life (though not overly religious, Harper isn't shy with his beliefs). Chapters are short and focused, and though Harper's approach is framed as a "Black man to Black woman," his gracious, uplifting text is suitable for any young woman looking for perspective; his advice is nothing new, but it is genuine and accessible.
Publishers Weekly
In his straight-talking style, Hill helps his young sister build self- confidence, self-reliance, self- respect, and encourages her on her journeys towards becoming a strong and successful woman.
Concrete Loop
Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for Letters to a Young Sister:
1. Do you find the words from luminaries like Michelle Obama, Cathy Hughes, Gabrielle Union encouraging? Were some of their messages more inspiring or more meaningful than others? Are these women good role models?
2. What does Harper mean by "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail"? How important is having a plan? Does a plan leave room for the occurrence of luck or chance—seizing opportunities as they come along? What about a change of mind?
3. One of Harper's themes is the need for young women to build strong relationships and surround themselves with the right people? What does he mean by the "right people"? Does this particular piece of advice have meaning in your own life?
4. What is Harper's attitude toward the social networking internet—Facebook and MySpace?
5. Do you like the format of Letters to a Young Sister? Why might Harper have chosen to give his advice in the form of letters and to include emails? Why not just a straight advice book?
6. How does Harper approach the absence of a father in many young girls' lives? What impact does he feel it has on their emotional and spiritual development? What role does forgiveness play in the act of healing?
7. Break the book down into major categories. Summarize the advice that Harper provides in each area. Consider such categories as
• boys, dating, and sex
• eduction
• charting a future
• physical appearance and self-confidence
• feeling blue
• family structure
• friendships
• drugs
8. Hill Harper is a male who has successfully written a book for young men—Letters to a Young Brother. Does he bring credibility to this project—as a man writing a book for young women? Why or why not?
9. Overall, do you find Letters to a Young Sister inspiring? Have you benefited from the advice contained between its covers? Are there areas in your own life to which it applies? If so, how might you start acting on some of the book's lessons?
10. Does this book transcend age and race? Could young white as well as young black women benefit from this book? What about middle-aged and older women?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)