'Ask Amy' Columnist at W&M Friday to Read from New Book

By Amber Lester Thursday, February 04, 2010

Thousands of readers write to advice columnists every year, seeking guidance on how to fix their love lives, parenting skills, leaky faucets and sibling rivalries. They number in the millions – readers who devour the advice doled out by writers who go by only their first names, like Ann, Abby and Heloise.

Little is ever known about how those writers fix their own lives. But audience members will get a glimpse into the woman behind the syndicated advice column “Ask Amy” when Amy Dickinson appears from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at the Swem Library on the campus of William and Mary. Dickinson, whose daughter Emily Mason is a WM junior, will read from her new memoir, “The Mighty Queens of Freeville.”

Dickinson was chosen to replace Ann Landers as the signature Chicago Tribune columnist in 2003. Before joining the Tribune, Dickinson wrote a column on family issues for TIME magazine. She also frequently appears on National Public Radio’s news quiz game show, “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me,” and has been featured as a commentator on CBS’ “Sunday Morning.”

Dickinson is known for telling readers, “I make the mistakes so you don’t have to.” Her memoir focuses on some of those mistakes. In “The Mighty Queens of Freeville,” Dickinson writes about raising Emily after her husband left the family. As she struggled through the adult dating scene and career changes, Dickinson’s constant was taking her daughter to visit her tiny hometown of Freeville, N.Y. In the small town (population hovering around 500), Dickinson found a community happy to help raise her daughter. The titular “Mighty Queens” are the women of her mother’s family who gave the advice queen her own guidance.

Dickinson ultimately found her own happy ending; in August 2008, she married childhood friend Bruno Schickel, a builder she invited to help her renovate her home. Instead, she ended up living in his home after they married in Freeville.

On her book’s Web site, Dickinson said sharing her own history has helped readers reach out to her. “I realized that people really want to have a conversation, and I’m honored that they want to have it with me,” she said.

A book sale and signing, with refreshments, will follow Dickinson’s reading Friday. To attend, please RSVP to (757) 221-7872.