It may take a village to raise a child, but takes an entire community to empower today's  young women and give her the confidence she needs to strike out on her own, assured that she will have the knowledge and benefit of the experience of those who came before her.  With the demise of the extended family, an increase in single parent homes, career and financial demands, etc., the mothers (or fathers as the case may be) of today have fewer traditional resources to draw on to guide their adolescent and young daughters in today's world.

"If you had a daughter in those vulnerable years between 12 and 30, what would you tell her about men?"

Julia A. Davis, author and educator, posed this question to a wide slice of American pie from the bowling alley to the barber shop in her new book, A LETTER TO OUR DAUGHTERS ABOUT MEN.  Individual snippets from conversations and candid opinions emerged from this "shared wisdom that came from their hearts."  The book was then divided into five relevant sections:

* Developing Yourself
* Listen to Those who Care About You
* Think Critically About All Of Your Relationships
* Intimacy, Sex and Commitment
* Have Faith when Encountering Life's Difficulties

As the matriarch of a large family, I found this book to be a valuable resource, not only as a reminder of advice I have heard in the past, but also words and feelings of wisdom from those I have never met.  I often felt as if I were a fly on the wall gleaning bits and pieces of sage advice acquired in many lifetimes, often from the school of hard knocks.  Many times during the course of the reading I imagined I could hear my mother say, "When I was your age, my mother said to me ..."  This book is a gift to give to oneself, mother or father, as an expression of love to hand down to your daughters.