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Parenting

11th Aug 2017

‘Don’t limit yourself’ Laura Dern pens touching letter to young daughter

This is so lovely

Keeley Ryan

We’re not crying, you’re crying.

Laura Dern has encouraged her daughter not to limit herself in a heartfelt open letter.

The Twin Peaks actress said she penned the touching letter, which will appear in People magazine’s September issue, after reflecting on what it means to be a woman today.

bliss is seeing the world thru 12 year old eyes

A post shared by @lauradern on

It reads:

“Dear Jaya,

“I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be a woman today.

“A woman in her own skin, in her power, without any labels placed on her.

“And as part of that process, I’ve thought back to what I saw when I was your age.

“The ’70s were a very new time culturally.

“Unlike the women in my grandmother’s generation, who were told to choose between just a few life options, my mother and her friends were part of the revolution in which women made clear that they were not satisfied by limitations — they wanted to do it all.

“Although society was beginning to accept this, it was assumed that those who tried to do it all were going to fail at everything.

“So my reaction, as I got older, was to decide that even though I could do all things, I was going to focus only on one at a time.

“Continually striving not to fail was the burden I put on myself.

“And I’m writing this to you because I want to make sure that you don’t limit yourself in the same ways.”