I always preferred Ann Landers over Dear Abbey. And it wasn't until I read this book that I really knew why. Ann Landers is honest and frank. She knows what she thinks and she's not afraid to tell her readers. She also is not afraid to change her mind and let people know that she made a mistake (as evident in her reversal of position about homosexuals). Written by her former editor (the last in a line), America's Mom covers all of this and more. It's not a boring biography, starting with her birth and covering every aspect of her life. It does touch on every part of her life, but it focuses more on who she was as a person and her work ethic and just her life in a general sense. Eppie was a kick-ass woman. That's waht I learned from this book. Long before she made waves with her columns, she made waves in her communities. She was buddies with important and prominant people long before she started publishing their advice in Ann Landers (that is in fat, part of how she got the gig in the first place). The book is a nice memorial to Eppie and demonstrates the impact she had on her millions of readers by including personal stories of those affected by her columns.

Share/Like this Review?