1958. The movie is Vertigo. Kim Novak asks Jimmy Stewart, "Couldn't you like me just the way I am?" 2001. The movie is Bridget Jones's Diary. Rene Zellweger asks Hugh Grant, "Can't you just like me the way that I am?" A lot of things have changed since 1958. Some things never change. So begins Ilene Beckerman's deftly drawn look at the doubts, dreams, and hard-earned triumphs of women, from the Audrey Hepburn era to the era of Britney Spears. Like most women we know, Ilene Beckerman has struggled with self-esteem, confronted insecurities, survived dashed hopes, and lived long enough to have finally learned that there's more to happiness than finding the right hairdo and maintaining an ideal weight. This was never more clear to her than when she decided to go to her fiftieth elementary school reunion. In Makeovers at the Beauty Counter of Happiness, Beckerman addresses what really matters in life. She shares her (unsent) letters to celebrities (including Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, and Madonna) and letters imparting wisdom to her granddaughter. Along the way, she discovers something that our mothers tried to tell us long ago: that beauty comes from within.
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