Dear Daughter: A Handbook for Life

From award-winning BBC podcaster Namulanta Kombo comes a heartfelt collection of letters from parents around the globe, filled with hard-won wisdom and guidance for young women - with a guided journal inside

When Namulanta became a mother, she found herself overwhelmed by the prospect of raising a daughter in today's world. How could she prepare her for the awkwardness of puberty, the intensity of teenage friendships, the courage it takes to leave home and the inevitable encounters with grief? How could she help her navigate dating, impossible beauty standards and the dual pressure to be a careerwoman and a nurturer?

Realising that no mother can answer these questions alone, Namulanta began gathering letters, addressed to her daughter, full of heartfelt advice from her family and friends. What began as a personal project blossomed into an award-winning BBC World Service podcast, in which parents, relatives and friends from around the world offered up their hard-won insights, comfort and guidance for the next generation of young women. This book collects the wisdom of that global village of voices with letters from over twenty countries, including those penned by celebrated figures such as actress Adjoa Andoh, chef Nadia Hussain and acclaimed writer Isabel Allende.

Here are stories of fashion failures and over-plucked eyebrows, disastrous dates and first loves. Here are mothers who fight for their daughters in ways both dramatic and ordinary, and of daughters learning that the stories they inherit might become their greatest source of strength.

Tender and wise, with space for you to add your own letters and reflections, Dear Daughter is a book to write in, return to and pass on – a family heirloom in the making.