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Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions Hardcover – March 7 2017
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A few years ago, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie received a letter from a dear friend from childhood, asking how to raise her new baby girl a feminist.
Although she has written and spoken out widely about feminism, Adichie wasn't sure how to advise her friend Ijeawele. But as a person who'd babysat, had loved her nieces and nephews, and now, too, was the mother of a daughter herself, she thought she would try. So she sent Ijeawele a letter with some suggestions--15 in all--which she has now decided to share with the world.
Compelling, direct, wryly funny, and perceptive, Dear Ijeawele offers specifics on how we can empower our daughters to become strong, independent women. Here, too, are ways parents can raise their children--both sons and daughters--beyond a culture's limiting gender prescriptions. This short, sharp work rings out in Chimamanda's voice: infused with deep honesty, clarity, strength, and above all love. She speaks to the important work of raising a girl in today's world, and provides her readers with a clear proposal for inclusive, nuanced thinking. Here we have not only a rousing manifesto, but a powerful gift for all people invested in the idea of creating a just society--an endeavour now more urgent and important than ever.
- Print length80 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherKnopf Canada
- Publication dateMarch 7 2017
- Dimensions12.62 x 1.24 x 18.16 cm
- ISBN-100735273405
- ISBN-13978-0735273405
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Review
“[E]ndowed with the gift of ancient storytellers. Adichie knows what is at stake, and what to do about it. She is fearless.” —Chinua Achebe
“Adichie is both a grand storyteller and an incisive social commentator.” —Toronto Star
“One of the most artful writers of the English language.” —The Globe and Mail
“We probably don’t deserve Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The author and feminist who inspired Beyoncé is now fighting America’s political battles, and man is she good at it.” —The Cut
“[O]ne of the world’s leading thinkers and a true champion of women’s rights.” —Okayafrica
“Considered the literary successor of the recently deceased Chinua Achebe, Adichie navigates cultural, social and personal complexities with great dexterity.” —Global Atlanta
“All her life Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been writing in the shadow of an African literary giant. But Chinua Achebe’s gone now, and it is Adichie’s turn to stake her claim as Nigeria’s pre-eminent author and one of Africa’s most important voices. . . . Nigeria’s got a ready-made replacement [for Chinua Achebe] in the wings.” —Daily Maverick
“Adiche’s prose is lush and acerbic, arch and sexy and politically exacting.” —Lisa Moore, author of Caught
“Immensely talented.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s incessant curiosity about people is what makes her such a wonderful storyteller.” —The Sunday Telegraph
“[Adichie’s] unflinching, multi-arc redemption stories bridge the gap between Africa and the West, in a vein perhaps only comparable to that of the late, missed Chinua Achebe.” —Interview
“[O]ne of the most beloved and critically lauded writers working today.” —The Guardian
“Adichie has shown herself a powerful writer, moving with disquieting ease from humour to horror, and anger to tenderness.” —The Scotsman
“A fiction writer of exceptional talent.” —The Telegraph
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
It felt like too huge a task.
But I had spoken publicly about feminism and perhaps that made her feel I was an expert on the subject. I had over the years also helped care for many babies of loved ones; I had worked as a babysitter and helped raise my nephews and nieces. I had done a lot of watching and listening, and I had done even more thinking.
In response to my friend’s request, I decided to write her a letter, which I hoped would be honest and practical, while also serving as a map of sorts for my own feminist thinking. This book is a version of that letter, with some details changed.
Now that I, too, am the mother of a delightful baby girl, I realize how easy it is to dispense advice about raising a child when you are not facing the enormously complex reality of it yourself. Still, I think it is morally urgent to have honest conversations about raising children differently, about trying to create a fairer world for women and men.
My friend sent me a reply saying she would “try” to follow my suggestions.
And in rereading these as a mother, I, too, am determined to try.
Product details
- Publisher : Knopf Canada (March 7 2017)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 80 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0735273405
- ISBN-13 : 978-0735273405
- Item weight : 159 g
- Dimensions : 12.62 x 1.24 x 18.16 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: #410,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,171 in Feminist Theory (Books)
- #1,615 in Political Science Textbooks
- #3,921 in Gender Studies (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE's work has appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker and Granta. She is the author of the novels Purple Hibiscus; Half of a Yellow Sun, which won the Orange Prize; Americanah, which won the NBCC Award and was a New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Year; the story collection The Thing Around Your Neck; and the essay We Should All Be Feminists. A recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, she divides her time between the United States and Nigeria.
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Adichie never claims to be an expert in what she talks about, but I loved her ideas, especially when it came down to choice and equality. Children should be able to CHOOSE what they want to play with. Boys and girls alike. The same applies to clothes, shoes, activities and dreams. Having worked in a kids shoe shop, I know I used to cringe when I heard mothers steer their little girls towards the pink sparkly pumps and away from the dinosaurs and train patterns that they claimed were 'meant for the boys'. Some girls LIKE dinosaurs and trains. I used to see plenty of boys wanting to wear the bright and shiny shoes and THAT'S OKAY. Let them be a princess if they want to, there is nothing more beautiful than a child's imagination! My only niggle was that because it was a letter, it included a lot of names and stories that I couldn't fully relate to. But I kind of liked that about it too. It was a letter that gave me hope and made me smile, and that was enough.
I think the main thing I love about this book is that it started off as a letter to her friend on how to raise a feminist daughter; the book evolves slightly from that but essentially at it's core it is that letter. It's the sort of letter that I wish I was given growing up, that I wish everyone is given growing up. We aren't asking people to be perfect or non-judgemental, we're just asking people to have opinions and question things and just try to be a little bit better. I love the way that Adichie writes; there is something that is so effortless and the writing just flows.
I especially love the messages in this book about the language we ascribe to fathers "helping out" or "babysitting" - please see biggest eye roll from me ever. It is one of my biggest hates when fathers say they are babysitting their own children... you cannot babysit your own child. So much of what she writes I relate too, and I just want to go and explore the rest of her writing.





