A LIFE IN LETTERS Ann Landers' Letters to Her Only Child

Hearing these letters can make one slightly uncomfortable--like reading someone else's personal letters from home. Many of us grew up reading the solid, sometimes acerbic, advice Ann Landers gave to the American public for 47 years. These letters are very different and far more personal. These are the letters of a Jewish mother to her only child. They are admonishing, cajoling, encouraging, gossipy, and generally upbeat. They read like anybody's letters from home. There is no special or definitive style. What they reveal is a mother who deeply loves her daughter. Melissa Hughes sounds the way we imagine Eppie Lederer (Ann Landers) would. Her voice is clear and well modulated, and a pleasure to listen to. The letters will interest those who want a more intimate look at a woman who influenced many in the second half of the twentieth century. D.L.G.Hearing these letters can make one slightly uncomfortable--like reading someone else's personal letters from home. Many of us grew up reading the solid, sometimes acerbic, advice Ann Landers gave to the American public for 47 years. These letters are very different and far more personal. These are the letters of a Jewish mother to her only child. They are admonishing, cajoling, encouraging, gossipy, and generally upbeat. They read like anybody's letters from home. There is no special or definitive style. What they reveal is a mother who deeply loves her daughter. Melissa Hughes sounds the way we imagine Eppie Lederer (Ann Landers) would. Her voice is clear and well modulated, and a pleasure to listen to. The letters will interest those who want a more intimate look at a woman who influenced many in the second half of the twentieth century. D.L.G. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 04]