Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

From the best-selling author of Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists comes to a powerful new statement about feminism today—written as a letter to a friend.

Here are fifteen invaluable suggestions–compelling, direct, wryly funny, and perceptive–for how to empower a daughter to become a strong, independent woman. Offering advice such as teaching a young girl to read widely and recognize the role of language in reinforcing unhealthy cultural norms; encouraging her to choose a helicopter, and not only a doll, as a toy if she so desires; having open conversations with her about appearance, identity, and sexuality; and debunking the myths that women are somehow biologically designed to be in the kitchen, and that men can “allow” women to have full careers, Dear Ijeawele goes right to the heart of sexual politics in the twenty-first century. It will start a new and urgently needed conversation about what it really means to be a woman today.

Dear Ijeawele, Or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions is licensed for publication in 19 languages.

Awards | Distinction

Winner of the Grand Prix de l’Héroïne Madame Figaro (nonfiction), 2017

Praises for
Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

  • "Adichie’s suggestions are…full of her dry wit, and range from the obvious (‘Do it together) to the bold (‘Reject likeability’). The more radical suggestions are the ones that encourage mothers to be complete human beings, not merely ‘hosts.’ And as much as this is a book written to mothers of daughters, fathers of daughters would benefit from reading it, too; parents, in general, would do well to try to raise children who won't have to grow up and read it at all...Powerful and life-affirming, offering wisdom for everyone."

    - The Village Voice

  • "In We Should All Be Feminists, Adichie distilled the essence of feminism into a powerful treatise. Now, in Dear Ijeawele, she goes a step further and covers every feminist topic you can imagine–domestic chores, gendered language, female sexuality, objectification, race, and much more. I am amazed at Adichie’s ability to communicate so effectively and efficiently. If you liked We Should All Be Feminists, you will LOVE Dear Ijeawele."

    - Book Riot, “The Best Books We Read in February”

  • "Raising a next-generation feminist is no small job, but Adichie approaches the task with tenderness in her forthright advice to a friend...Adichie envisions ways mothers can nurture strong girls, from rejecting traditional gender roles to leading by example...Dear Ijeawele is a volume as fierce and illuminating as bringing up a confident daughter, both with love at their core."

    - Oprah.com, “2 Books About Being a Woman Everyone Needs to Read”

  • "Wise and inspiring. Adichie, who has a daughter of her own, writes from experience in a voice that’s companionable and open. She addresses critical mother-daughter issues such as sex, clothes and makeup, and she espouses an attitude of self-determination when it comes to marriage and career. Her parental advice will stand the test of time."

    - Book Page

  • "Personal and urgent...Adichie is passionate about equality. Her new book offers 15 ways that we can encourage girls to be strong, to plant seeds of feminism. But more than that, Adichie hopes the book will help ‘move us toward a world that is more gender equal.’ Doing so means knocking down ingrained assumptions about how men and women think and behave."

    - The Washington Post