self-help: A fresh take on self-help books

Natasha Munson had never read a self-help book, but in 1997 she decided to pour out the pain of her 25 years on paper. She reflected on how much she had learned after "misplacing" her values by having sex too early and geeing pregnant in her junior year of college. And before she knew it, she had written a guidebook that could help her, a cousin she was concerned about, and others as well. Life lessons for My Sisters (Hyperion, $11.95), which Munson originally self-published in 2000, has been inspiring readers while propelling the author to the top of a new category of self-help books: those targeting Black women under 40. We see why. Munson, who claims she has a short attention span, infuses her book with get-to-the-point chapters. As a result, reading Life Lessons is like talking to your homegirl, from the hugs to the occasional flip of the hand telling you, "Get over it." Munson is raising daughters Mecca, 11, and Kenya, 9, and has left behind a career in technical writing to focus on saving girls from mistakes she made when she was younger. "You don't want to regret the choices you made or did not make," Munson says. "Live your life in a way that, in the end, you can say, 'I loved, I lived, I laughed, I learned, I helped." For more on Munson, visit sisterlessons.com. COPYRIGHT 2005 Essence Communications, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group