Many of us are depression era babies and are familiar with this body of work from our Mothers and Grandmothers. Eleanor was groundbreaking new sense of advocacy for women as well as galvanizing women in WWII to hold the country together. I heard the stories of great strength and fortitude of Eleanor Roosevelt that led women in this country.
Her writing here is a example of her intelligence, will power and exemplary influence she was as First Lady Much of what is written here applies today as the country is moving backwards in women's rights. All women should give this to their daughters and read it together It is a important body of work for women's rights.

One would not think that a book of advice written in 1933 would have relevance today. You think wrong. Eleanor Roosevelt's first book, published for the millions of women struggling to keep home and family together during the ravages of the Great Depression, is full of advice that remains true today. Granted, some of the advice she provides is unique to the time period in which she was writing, and the references to Departments of Home Economics and the various menus they recommend have a charming quaintness to them. However, the main piece of advice that runs through each section of the novel is that women have more power and influence than we realize.

While her words are folksy and plain, there is no doubt to Mrs. Roosevelt's sincerity as she proffers advice on everything from meal planning to working outside the home. She means well, even as she offers advice from a position of profound wealth and privilege to women who have nothing. She interjects anecdotes about women she has met in her travels whose situations directly pertain to the topic at hand, and this lessens the feel of a Have condescending to a Have-not. For all of her efforts however, it is difficult to ignore the fact that Mrs. Roosevelt never felt the burdens of the Great Depression in the same way as the rest of the country. It does not diminish the advice she gives, but it does make the advice a little more difficult to swallow, or so I imagined while reading.

If one just focuses on the advice about women and their changing places in society, what she has to say is inspiring. Her vision of a world where women are viewed as equal to men in every avenue of life is encouraging and so far ahead of her time that some of what she had to say had to have shocked her audience. The shock today is that eighty years later her vision is still not a reality. While women may indeed be highly influential, Mrs. Roosevelt sadly underestimated the barriers men would create to prevent equality among the sexes. However, her enthusiasm and strong belief that women can achieve equality is something we can and should all take to heart.

This book of Eleanor Roosevelt's advice to women during the depression offers an interesting glimpse into what life was like during that time. It also shows what an intelligent, practical, and down-to-earth person she was. She was interested in everything and everyone around her. Her sage advice covered a wide-range of topics: how to handle the loss of income the Depression brought, husband-wife relationships, working women, budgeting, recipes, the importance of taking care of your health (sleep, physical fitness, "me" time), child care, how to handle adolescents, divorce, how to weather life's changes and challenges. I was impressed that she addressed all socio-economic levels. Most of what she wrote is still good advice today. A political and social activist, it is no wonder that she was admired by so many.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Nation Books for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book.

We all have the capability to make a change, no matter our position in life. Eleanor Roosevelt was the longest-serving first lady of the U.S. (1933-1945), an American politician, women's rights activist and the outspoken member of the White House. She was a powerful woman and used her position for the good in a time where women were expected to be silent, stand by their man quietly and not speak in public. Her writing a book in 1933 was shocking to the world.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (ER) gives advice to women of all ages in every aspect of life in her first published book, It's Up to the Women. Written during the Great Depression, she asks women do their part to get through the economic and financial hardship. Topics include hunger, homelessness, working in and outside the home, unemployment, education and independence. She encourages women to play influential roles in their public and private life.

ER was ahead of her time. She was an active First Lady, writing this book during the first year. She toured around the country speaking, was involved in politics and press conferences. She was one of the first women to actively speak up about equal pay for equal work. She rooted for quality education and the right to vote. ER knew the importance of her position as First Lady and stepped outside the box.

It's Up to the Women was first published in 1933. Its next expected publication date is April 11. The content and ER's words are just as relevant today as it was 80+ years ago. I have a sense of self-accountability after reading this re-published book. It is indeed up to us women. We run the world, right? Now, more than ever, we need to act like it.

LiteraryMarie

A solid read about life during the Great Depression. The writing was solid and the perspective unique.