Dear Hartley by Jedediah Bila

 

Dear Hartley by Jedediah Bila is a compilation of heartfelt letters from a mother to her son. There are a total of 52 letters in this nicely bound hardcover book that touch on a variety of topics from character and friendship to healthy eating, studying in school and fitness. 

Each letter in Dear Hartley is written for her son, Hartley, when he gets older. She shares her heart with some of her life experiences with both things she is proud of and things she would do differently if she could. She is also open and honest about mistakes she has made and her wishes for her son. She shares how she hopes his generation can make some positive changes in this world. The letters are of various length, depending on the topic. 

I think some of the letters in Dear Hartley are more personal than others. Through part of them, I felt like she was writing to her son and in others, I did feel like she was writing to the reader so they were more of an essay to me than a letter. Still, I like memoir type books so I found it all interesting and I felt like I knew the author by the end of the book. I don't watch television very often so I was not familiar with her work there. I didn't know who she was before reading Dear Hartley. I am sure this would be a good book for her fans but it was also interesting to those of us who weren't familiar with her.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.