You Don't Have to Be Everything

Created and compiled just for young women by Diana Whitney, former longtime poetry columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, You Don't Have to Be Everything is filled with work by a wide range of female poets who are honest, unafraid, and so wonderfully skilful at addressing the big feelings of coming-of-age – aloneness, longing, doubt, fear, sadness, anger, a need for approval, and an attitude that pretends none of it matters. But also joy, hope, celebration, solace, and all the good things poetry brings, including humour (see “Questions to Ask Google”). The cast of 70 poets is extraordinary: bestselling authors like Maya Angelou, Elizabeth Acevedo, Sharon Olds, Joy Harjo, Lucille Clifton, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Mary Oliver; our new national Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman, Instagram-famous poets including Kate Baer, Melody Lee, and Andrea Gibson; poets who are LGBTQ, poets of diverse racial and cultural backgrounds, poets who sing of the body that breaks free of conventional ideas of beauty.

Illustrated in full colour with the work of three female artists – Kate Mockford, Stephanie Singleton, and Christina Gonzalez – You Don't Have to Be Everything is a treasury of wisdom, compassion, and understanding, a collection to read again and again, and a perfect gift for daughters, granddaughters, or any young woman in your life.

“"This collection feels like a gift, a pep talk, a shoulder to cry on, and, most of all, a mirror that will captivate its audience. A helpful companion for young women navigating a spectrum of complex emotions" -- Kirkus Review s "The poems in this gorgeous book glitter like stars, like sequins, like a blade. And they constitute an invitation to our girls to be free--to be whole. How breathtakingly precious that is! How devastatingly rare. I am reminded (again and again) that art is here to save our lives." -- Catherine Newman, author of How to Be a Person "This is such a beautiful gathering of voices, such a beautiful gathering of poems. If I had had this book when I was younger, it would have enriched my life. But I'm so incredibly grateful I get to read it, and be changed by it, now." -- Ross Gay, author of the New York Times bestseller The Book of Delights "This book is as beautiful to look at as it is to read, and full of important messages that every girl should hear." -- Lisa Selin Davis, author of Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to be Different”

 "This is such a beautiful gathering of voices, such a beautiful gathering of poems. If I had had this book when I was younger, it would have enriched my life. But I’m so incredibly grateful I get to read it, and be changed by it, now." — Ross Gay, author of the New York Times bestseller The Book of Delights

“Varied and vibrant...the collection pulses with a vital and confident energy, embracing contradictions and complexity.”—Boston Globe

“Each poem addresses a different complex aspect of coming-of-age struggles while confronting persistent views about femininity. You Don’t Have to Be Everything provides a safe and guiding poetic space for young women to come into their true selves.”—The Root

"Self-acceptance, bravery, celebration." —Ms. Magazine

"This collection feels like a gift, a pep talk, a shoulder to cry on, and, most of all, a mirror that will captivate its audience. A helpful companion for young women navigating a spectrum of complex emotions" — Kirkus Reviews 

"This empowering assemblage of poems by an inclusive group of women writers offers insight and community to readers navigating adolescence... Whitney’s introduction offers a message that permeates the volume’s entirety: “We are already enough.” — Publishers Weekly

"Whitney, a poet, author, and essayist, brings diversity to the forefront, with poems presenting a refreshingly inclusive array of perspectives, including from trans and nonbinary poets..."  — Booklist

"The poems in this gorgeous book glitter like stars, like sequins, like a blade. And they constitute an invitation to our girls to be free—to be whole. How breathtakingly precious that is! How devastatingly rare. I am reminded (again and again) that art is here to save our lives." — Catherine Newman, author of How to Be a Person

"This book is as beautiful to look at as it is to read, and full of important messages that every girl should hear.” —  Lisa Selin Davis, author of Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to be Different

"What company this book would have provided me if I could have had it when I was young!  The poems sing and celebrate, mourn and commiserate, question and assert. The smartly edited collection displays the tremendous vitality and diversity of women poets today and offers a soulful read for “girls becoming themselves” at any age, even my own." —  Beth Ann Fennelly, author of Heating Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs

 "This is such a beautiful gathering of voices, such a beautiful gathering of poems. If I had had this book when I was younger, it would have enriched my life. But I’m so incredibly grateful I get to read it, and be changed by it, now." — Ross Gay, author of the New York Times bestseller The Book of Delights

2022 NAUTILUS BOOK AWARDS - Silver, Young Adult, Non-fiction

“Varied and vibrant...the collection pulses with a vital and confident energy, embracing contradictions and complexity.”—Boston Globe

“Each poem addresses a different complex aspect of coming-of-age struggles while confronting persistent views about femininity. You Don’t Have to Be Everything provides a safe and guiding poetic space for young women to come into their true selves.”—The Root

"Self-acceptance, bravery, celebration." —Ms. Magazine

"This collection feels like a gift, a pep talk, a shoulder to cry on, and, most of all, a mirror that will captivate its audience. A helpful companion for young women navigating a spectrum of complex emotions" — Kirkus Reviews 

"This empowering assemblage of poems by an inclusive group of women writers offers insight and community to readers navigating adolescence... Whitney’s introduction offers a message that permeates the volume’s entirety: “We are already enough.” — Publishers Weekly

"Whitney, a poet, author, and essayist, brings diversity to the forefront, with poems presenting a refreshingly inclusive array of perspectives, including from trans and nonbinary poets..."  — Booklist

"The poems in this gorgeous book glitter like stars, like sequins, like a blade. And they constitute an invitation to our girls to be free—to be whole. How breathtakingly precious that is! How devastatingly rare. I am reminded (again and again) that art is here to save our lives." — Catherine Newman, author of How to Be a Person

"This book is as beautiful to look at as it is to read, and full of important messages that every girl should hear.” —  Lisa Selin Davis, author of Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to be Different

"What company this book would have provided me if I could have had it when I was young!  The poems sing and celebrate, mourn and commiserate, question and assert. The smartly edited collection displays the tremendous vitality and diversity of women poets today and offers a soulful read for “girls becoming themselves” at any age, even my own." —  Beth Ann Fennelly, author of Heating Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs

Diana Whitney writes across genres with a focus on feminism, motherhood, and sexuality. Her first book, Wanting It, became an indie bestseller in poetry. Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, Glamour, the Washington Post, and many more. A feminist activist in her Vermont hometown and beyond, Diana is a senior contributing editor at HealthyWomen.org. Find out more www.diana-whitney.com

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