Time has never flown faster than these last nine years since I became a mother. Sometimes when I try to remember certain parts of my children’s early years, it’s hard. The memories are getting blurrier and blurrier, and they are still quite young.
That’s why I really enjoyed reading Heather Armstrong’s “Dear Daughter: The Best of the Dear Leta Letters”. It took me back in time to a time that was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I read the book on a plane and spent the next hour and a half dreaming about my first child and what it was like bringing her into the world. It was my first born specifically, as that is also what Heather wrote about. The joy of the unknown.
The book consists of monthly letters that Armstrong wrote to her daughter, Leta, from the age of 8 weeks old to age 5. From diaper changes on the changing table and sticking her feet in her mouth to the dimples that first formed on her cheeks, Armstrong talks fondly about these times and how she fell deeply in love with her daughter. It reminds me of my own unconditional love for my daughter that started as soon she exited my womb and marched into my life.
I know that Armstrong suffered from postpartum depression after she had her daughter, I have read her thoughts on that time and time again as there were parts of that time I could relate to, but she focuses on the good times in this book, and there were many. I love the way she summed up the times with her new child and jotted down these lines while reading:
“I wanted to scoop you up and cover you in kisses for as long as you would. I know there are only a handful of moments like that in life. Thank you for that one.” (page 42)
“Motherhood is not at all like the image I had in my head for decades. It’s so different, so phenomenally different and what a wonderful surprise.” (page 57)
“When I see the features in her face, the way her cheekbones meet her thin nose in symmetrical angles, her milky complexion peeking out of the black of her business suit, I realized that everything was going to be okay. That was one of the most spiritual moments of my life.” (Armstrong on her mother) (page 72)
“We all know that we would sacrifice anything for each other, and one of the many reasons your father and I decided to have another child was to give you the possibility of that friendship.” (page 173)
My only question is how much of this was truly written when Leta was in her first five years and how much were these lettered edited or embellished along the way? I thought about that many times when reading the book, but in the end I am happy that it took me back to a time in my life I want never to forget.
Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book to facilitate this review but all opinions are my own.
if(typeof(jQuery) == ‘undefined’){
Follow
You need to have a the right also good diet plan in advance in order to keep both the health then hair
nutritious. Market hair growth speedier it is possible to adhere to a healthy and well balanced weight loss program.
A wide range of use quantity of cosmetics so that
you can renew their hair illnesses despite the fact that those people
solutions and products seldom contributes to
the situation but rather worsens the impact ever increasing numbers of
Thanks for sharing such a fastidious thinking, paragraph is good, thats why
i have read it entirely
I’m mystified why this was published. The letters were already published for all to read for free. Why re-publish something that is personal to Leta? I don’t get the Dooce love. I read her first book and didn’t think it was well written.
Interesting perspective. I really question whether she wrote these passages when Leta was a baby. My guess is not; I just found out that it isn’t even Leta on the cover.
I found these to be so treacly, and just not all that “beautifully written”. But then I agree with Cheryl: it’s supposed to be to your child. I didn’t really find all that common ground I might have with Heather and her letters to her child. I’d rather be remembering my own times with my own child(ren), and I don’t really need a prompt to recall those!
Shame that I did need a prompt. Oh, well, guess that says something about me!
What I really have never understood about posting a personal letter you’ve written to your child…is why are you sharing it with the internet? It’s supposed to be TO YOUR CHILD.
I started writing a yearly letter to my son which I mail on his birthday. I will hand all of these to him someday when he is old enough to appreciate them. I would never dream of sharing my personal correspondence with my child with anyone other than my child.
I wonder how her “Dear Daughter” feels/will feel about having letters written to her available for anyone to read. This is not at all genuine mother-to-daughter love. It’s all about the almighty dollar.
And why anyone would want to read letters to a child from her mother is also beyone me.
We all know that Dooce is famous because she shares every aspect of her life, so there’s that. Reading this made me wish I had kept a journal when my daughter was small but I just had no time. If I had, would I share it with the world? Not on your life.
This is such a great idea. There are so many memories and emotions that is soon forgotten. To have written down thoughts during the early years will undoubtedly be a treasure for years to come.
I couldn’t get passed the first few but I thought they were beautifully written and I wish I took the time to write letters like that to my son.