Daughters of the Moon, Sisters of the Sun: Young Women and Mentors on the Transition to Womanhood. - Review - book review

Adolescence, Spring, 1998

HUGHES, K. Wind, & WOLF, Linda. Daughters of the Moon, Sisters of the Sun: Young Women and Mentors on the Transition to Womanhood. Gabriola Island, BC, Canada, & Stony Creek, CT: New Society Publishers, 1997. 240pp. $19.95 (p).

The media and advertising industry bombard teenage girls with the message that they are worthless unless they are thin, white, beautiful, artificial and flawless. Girls are encouraged to be childlike, passive, powerless, sexy and dependent on men. This ferments an atmosphere of contempt for girls and women--it affects girls' self-esteem and confidence as well as their attitude toward other girls and women. Girls need to know that they are not alone, that they are capable of defining themselves and making their own choices. Daughters of the Moon, Sisters of the Sun brings together girls and accomplished women mentors--including poet Maya Angelou, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls, actress Lindsay Wagner, singer Anisa Romero of Sky Cries Mary, politician Bella Abzug, Native American leader Wilma Mankiller, activist Angela Davis, and Olympic Gold Medal soccer star Michelle Akers--to share and support each other in the struggle of all young women to evolve into their authentic selves. In these autobio graphical stories, twenty-one teenage girls, many of whom participated for two years in a weekly focus group, reveal their experiences--from peer pressure and self-esteem to bulimia, anorexia, self-abuse, and suicide attempts, and from drug exploration, coming out, and pregnancy to spirituality, body image and empowered relationships with males. Together with the support and validation of their mentors, these young women explore the process of discovery, healing, and developing self-esteem.