Book: My Letters to My Daughters
Author: Curfina Kimkhovah
Reviewed By: Akhila Saroha
Published By: Evincepub Publishing
Amazon Link: Order Now

More than anything else, the legacy that the elders leave for the younger generations becomes a treasure for the younger ones and one of the reasons for them to look up to them. All their experiences, ways of working and their mistakes become important life lessons for the younger generations which help them to avoid all those and learn from them at the same time. In the light of this, Curfina Kimkhovah has attempted to leave her life’s legacy in her life’s work, “My Letters to My Daughters”. As simple as the title may seem, the work has a lot more depth and a lot more to say than it may seem to be on the surface. For once on reading the title, the readers are reminded of W.B. Yeats’ classic poem, “A Prayer for My Daughter”. However, Kimkhovah’s work bears the effect of modernity, and an easy differentiation would be of its being in the prose form. Most importantly, the readers may observe how far women have come where the address to their children is by them and they are not merely mute spectators.

The book begins with an attractive colorful cover which gives the feeling of one generation transferring a letter to another generation which pretty much matches the subject content of the title. Thereafter, the author begins her book with the thought of the circumstances that led to her taking the decision of writing “My Letters to My Daughters” which is very personal for her. But, she makes sure to have the readers on board when she says that this book can be read by every daughter and the lessons shared by the author can be applied by all in their lives. Only on reading the book, the readers find out that the book is not merely restricted to the female gender rather all people, young and old, can read this book and apply the lessons that the author shares in it.

The author tries to draw examples from all the things she sees around her. Whether it is something abstract, or from nature or just anything, she goes beyond limits to illustrate her points to make things clearer and make them sound more sensible. Off and on, she keeps reminding the readers that all she is writing is on a personal level by addressing her daughters. This makes sure that the daughters reading would feel close and connected to the author and even more closer to the words she has written. Work with such nature where a parent is intending to address their offspring has been written quite less. That gives the work the status of unique and exceptional in its own way.

Every reader, old or young, should read “My Letters to My Daughters” which leaves not just a legacy from one generation to another but also has the potential to become a guide to many who have lost their way in life and may be straying from their paths. With a language intending to reach out readers of all kinds, the author sometimes tends to divert from the subject mentioned in the title and the readers forget that the book is mainly a set of letters, but she also manages to bring the readers back to where they began and they recollect what the book is about. A few readers may mistake the book to be in Samuel Richardson’s epistolary form of writing, but the letters are more of a metaphor instead of being an actual letter as Richardson’s work had. The letters are an epitome of the experiences of the author and all that she has learnt in her life while bringing up her children.

Categorizing the book as a part of motivational literature would not be entirely wrong, as the hidden or intended message of the author is more or less to motivate the readers so that they can also make a difference in their lives as Cara does in her life. While on a motivational spree, there are a lot of important lessons to learn which some readers may be acquainted with or may not be. Overall, the book has something or the other to offer to all readers. All mothers who have something or the other to teach their daughters but have no time to present it in writing form can share this work with them so that their children also are not short of any learning and can try implementing the life changing lessons as mentioned by the author.

Since the work is the debut of Kimkhovah, the readers can expect a lot more fictional or non-fictional content which would be filled with her experiences and acquired wisdom to serve as a guiding light to readers of not just the present day but also the times ahead.