Parents offer their children advice all the time. From the time they’re small, it seems like all we say is Don’t touch that! or Stay away from there! or Clean your room. Clean your room. Ohfortheloveofgawd WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST CLEAN YOUR ROOM! We utter things like Trust me, I learned it the hard way, and do our best to shield them from all that’s wrong with the world. News flash: We have to tell our kids that it’s OK to skin their hearts and skin their knees (can anyone else hear Terry Jacks singing Seasons in the Sun or is it just me?) and that it’s OK to make a big old mess of your life sometimes, as long as you’re willing to do the work to clean it up. Part Chicken Soup for the Soul, part Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen) and part Book of Awesome, Something You Should Know is one mother’s advice, hopes and dreams for her daughter, given as a gift for her 15th birthday. Aimed primarily at young women, Something You Should Know points out things they should never do, while challenging them to boldly go where few young women have gone before.
