Hill Harper Wants Sisters to Know They Are Fine

By Felicia Pride

After the incredible success of his first motivational book, Letters to a Young Brother which was designed to get young men to fulfill their divine destiny, Hill Harper has returned. This time he's offering advice to females in Letters to a Young Sister: DeFine Your Destiny.

The book is a collection of letters to a "universal Young Sistah" that offer advice for a myriad of challenges that young women face, including, dealing with finances, sexism, peer pressure, relationships, body image, depression, and career choices.

Harper, actor, and star of CSI: NY, recruited some of his "surrogate sister-friends" and "really smart brothers" to lend their wisdom. Young sisters will read the advice, thoughts, and experiences of a stellar cast of successful personalities, including Michelle Obama, Alfre Woodard, Ciara, Sanaa Lathan, Ruby Dee, Angella Bassett, Tavis Smiley and Nikki Giovanni. Actress Gabrielle Union penned the book's foreword.

In the introduction, Harper explains his purpose for releasing a book for women. He writes: "As my tour wore on and I saw sisters standing there, I realized that they were there to hear what I had to say, not in spite of the fact that I am a Black man but rather because of the fact that I am a Black man. Certainly, they, like the brothers, were there to hear me say to them that their lives, goals, and dreams do matter. But also many of the sisters showed up to offer support and encouragement for what I was doing for young brothers. This book, in turn, is my effort to lift up women as so many women have lifted me."I was recently asked what I thought was one of the most pressing issues facing young African American women. And while I didn't have a definitive answer, I do believe that much of our unhappiness, bad decision-making, and complacency has to do with self-esteem issues.

I'm sure it's for this reason that Letters to a Young Sister offers a healthy amount of praise of black women. Harper wants sisters to know that they are F.I.N.E., an acronym which stands for Fantastic, Interesting, Necessary, and Exceptional.

And in doing so, he hopes that young women will take charge and live the lives they are built for. "No more sitting on the sidelines," he writes. "You are the star of this show, and I need you to take your place at center stage. You deserve top billing from now on for the rest of your life! So I will say it again: The time is now..."

Hill Harper is right. Now is our time (both sisters and brothers, young and old) to uplift ourselves. Are you up for the challenge?