My mother wrote this book. It took her forty-four years... Three generations of Americans grew up reading Ann Landers. Her advice guided and inspired millions. Now, by reading the letters she wrote to her daughter, everyone who loved her column can get to know the woman behind the famous name. Ann Landers was born Eppie Lederer to immigrant parents in Iowa, but her extraordinary success would bring her into the world of the rich, the famous, and the talented. She met with popes and presidents and socialized with the best and brightest of her generation. And she told her daughter all about it as she opined on world-changing events and candidly spoke of her love life after her divorce, as well as her innermost feelings about her identical twin, "Dear Abby," and their long-standing feud. Witty and often hilarious, passionate, and, of course, brimming with sound advice, Ann Landers in Her Own Words is a portrait of an American original whose profound influence still resonates today. This book brings back the voice and spirit of the woman who helped ninety million people greet the day and forever changed us with her immortal words: "Wake up and smell the coffee."