Eleanor Roosevelt is one of my heroes! When I ran across her book, It’s Up to the Women…  “tips for living well”, I knew I must read it.  I loved the title, and expected the book to be much more political. It turned out to be more of a practical guidebook for women on how to survive difficult times during those Great Depression years. Although much of the book was dated, much of the advice was also timeless! She had so much respect for women, and her words were very encouraging and full of common sense ideas. The last few chapters of the book did deal more with women and politics.

“It is important that women think beyond the mere moment through which we are passing and acquaint themselves with all phases of life and conditions in our own country. I think we shall have fulfilled our mission well if when our time comes to give up active work in the world we can say we never saw a wrong without trying to right it; we never intentionally left unhappiness where a little effort would have turned it into happiness, and we were more critical of ourselves than we were of others.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother would often say to me, ‘You are a girl and I expect you to be more sensible and more thoughtful than your brothers.’ She was of the generation which did not demand so much recognition for women, but which accomplished many things by working through the men when they hardly knew they were being influenced. I do not mean for a minute that we should go back to the ideas of that generation or that women should return to the old status. I am merely pointing out that women, whether subtly or vociferously, have always been a tremendous power in the destiny of the world and with so many of them now holding important positions and receiving recognition and earning the respect of the men as well as the members of their own sex, it seems more than ever that in this crisis, ‘It’s Up to the Women!'”

I hope people will read it, understanding that life then was very different AND very much the same as now. Although it had some valuable and timeless parts to it, I’m afraid that I can’t recommend it without qualification. It was most interesting if you read it as a history of women and their roles in society, and in appreciation for the role Eleanor Roosevelt played in helping and encouraging women during that difficult time period. Our society and womens’ roles have changed dramatically since the 1930s and 1940s, so our sense what seems politically correct is also very different and must be kept in mind while reading this. I did appreciate the leadership and wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt, and especially her reminder that women “have always been a tremendous power in the destiny of the world.”

Definitely one of my heroes!