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Dear Abby
Second printing from 1958, no jacket, good shape
- GenresNonfiction
201 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1958
About the author
Abigail Van Buren
21 books38 followersPauline Phillips (born as Pauline "Popo" Esther Friedman) founded "Dear Abby" in 1956. The current Dear Abby is her first-born child and only daughter, Jeanne Phillips, who now writes under the pen name of Abigail Van Buren, which was also used by Pauline. She also has a son, Edward Jay Phillips.
Pauline Esther Friedman Phillips was an identical twin; her sister, Esther Pauline Friedman Lederer, wrote the Ann Landers column until her death from multiple myeloma in 2002, at age 83. As children, the two grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, and went by the nicknames "Popo" and "Eppie", respectively. Both are alumnae of Morningside College and both wrote for the college newspaper. They were so close then that they had a joint wedding in 1939 when both women were 21 years old. They were both Jewish.
As competing columnists, the sisters occasionally clashed; in 1956, Phillips offered her column to the Sioux City Journal at a reduced price, provided that the paper refused Lederer's column; Life Magazine reported on the offer in 1958.
The sisters publicly reconciled in 1964, although some suggest the acrimony lasted. Phillips has suffered from Alzheimer's disease since at least the 1990s; according to her daughter, her disease is (as of 2006) in its middle stages.
Her husband Morton Phillips and her daughter both state that she did reconcile with her now-deceased sister before Lederer's death. In 2002, when Lederer (Ann Landers) died, Phillips' daughter wrote a Dear Abby column in her memory, to which Margo Howard, Lederer's daughter, came foward and said neither sister had contact in the final years and that Phillips' daughter had only written the column for money. It is unknown if she is aware that Lederer has died. Shortly after Lederer's death, Jeanne Phillips appeared on Larry King Live saying she had told her mother of her sister's death though she had forgotten it a few hours later.
Phillips, who resided in Beverly Hills, California, wrote in a straightforward style that contrasted with Chicago-based Lederer's quips and barbs.
By 1995, when Phillips suffered from the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, assumed all the writing responsibilities of Dear Abby. After the Phillips family publicly announced that Pauline had Alzheimer’s, Jeanne assumed the pen name of Abigail Van Buren.
Pauline Esther Friedman Phillips was an identical twin; her sister, Esther Pauline Friedman Lederer, wrote the Ann Landers column until her death from multiple myeloma in 2002, at age 83. As children, the two grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, and went by the nicknames "Popo" and "Eppie", respectively. Both are alumnae of Morningside College and both wrote for the college newspaper. They were so close then that they had a joint wedding in 1939 when both women were 21 years old. They were both Jewish.
As competing columnists, the sisters occasionally clashed; in 1956, Phillips offered her column to the Sioux City Journal at a reduced price, provided that the paper refused Lederer's column; Life Magazine reported on the offer in 1958.
The sisters publicly reconciled in 1964, although some suggest the acrimony lasted. Phillips has suffered from Alzheimer's disease since at least the 1990s; according to her daughter, her disease is (as of 2006) in its middle stages.
Her husband Morton Phillips and her daughter both state that she did reconcile with her now-deceased sister before Lederer's death. In 2002, when Lederer (Ann Landers) died, Phillips' daughter wrote a Dear Abby column in her memory, to which Margo Howard, Lederer's daughter, came foward and said neither sister had contact in the final years and that Phillips' daughter had only written the column for money. It is unknown if she is aware that Lederer has died. Shortly after Lederer's death, Jeanne Phillips appeared on Larry King Live saying she had told her mother of her sister's death though she had forgotten it a few hours later.
Phillips, who resided in Beverly Hills, California, wrote in a straightforward style that contrasted with Chicago-based Lederer's quips and barbs.
By 1995, when Phillips suffered from the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, assumed all the writing responsibilities of Dear Abby. After the Phillips family publicly announced that Pauline had Alzheimer’s, Jeanne assumed the pen name of Abigail Van Buren.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 15, 2016
Una relectura que alegro muchos de mis veranos cuando era una nena. Sin lugar a dudas este es un libro que te invita a reir a carcajadas!
December 27, 2017
Sweet, but very dated with tidbits like unless you are psychically warped, you won't enjoy sex out of matrimony (and an... interesting... chapter about when it's okay to beat on your spouse). Still, an interesting time capsule.
January 4, 2014
"Abby" groups her wittiest letter responses into major categories and writes an essay of introduction for each theme, generalizing the types of problems people write about in each category with a few examples. Reading her essays were the best part, as she comes across as knowing everything, (and her insights range from comical to wise), and even though my biggest complaint was how outdated this is, it was pretty fascinating how universal our problems are as many of these letters in this 1950's collection are almost identical to the ones I read by her daughter (or is it grandaughter) today!
October 12, 2011
Of course, some of the advice is dated (I had to stop reading the chapter when she told a woman who was being beaten by her husband to stay with him) but overall a fun read.
August 5, 2016
It's funny how timeless some issues are. It was dated in places, but that only made it more fun to read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews