Out of the whirlwind of televised politics, power, and the terror of plague, comes a uniquely personal book about the most important things in life.
As seen 👀on The View, The Rubin Report, Glenn Beck, Dinesh D’Souza…
“I loved this book! I can’t wait to share these letters and their wonderful lessons with my kids. Thank you, Jed, for highlighting the things that really matter. Dear Hartley is a must-read for parents, young adults, and anyone who wants to help make this world a better place for us all.”
“A beautiful book! Smart, funny, deeply touching, and extremely well-written, Bila has knocked it out of the park yet again. Her unbridled optimism will move readers of all ages. This is absolutely the right book at the right moment in time.”
For the 2021 holiday season, Center Street presents
DEAR HARTLEY
Thoughts on character, kindness, and building a bRIGHTER world
JEDEDIAH BILA
In a country where mandates, growing government overreach, and one-size-fits-all approaches to individual health now run rampant, Jedediah Bila is worried for her country and child.
In her new book, DEAR HARTLEY (Center Street/Hachette, Nov. 16, 2021, ISBN 13-978-1546001034, hardcover, 288 pages) the former co-host of The View and Fox & Friends Weekend fearlessly champions values passed down through the generations, values that build strong people and strong nations. She shares mistakes made and lessons learned, unearthing challenges with media echo chambers, groupthink, and a society that is increasingly forgetting the pivotal principles of freedom, character, courage, and personal responsibility. Bila’s message is shared in the intelligent, sincere, confident voice of a 21st century American mom. The result is the perfect holiday book about the most important things in life.
And 1 of the MOST important things in life is FREEDOM.
🗽
Jedediah is a strong defender of freedom for us all. That freedom includes, but is not limited to the…
🗽freedom to disagree with her
🗽freedom to raise kids anchored in the time-tested principles upon which America was built
🗽freedom to attend a school board meeting and advocate passionately for what your kids are or aren't learning, without receiving a knock on the door from the FBI
🗽freedom to voice controversial opinions ON CAMPUS without fear of retribution
🗽freedom to get a Covid vaccine or not
🗽freedom to educate Hartley to think for himself.
“I had never thought of myself as someone who would homeschool 🏠, to be honest. I'm a former teacher and saw so much good happen in classrooms. But I see the homeschooling appeal more and more, and now it's something we're strongly considering. I'm worried about what's happening in schools, worried about parents being told to sit down and shut up while their kids suffer, especially after this year of endless school closures. Education is supposed to be about learning how to think, not what to think. That's far from the norm in schools today.”
Be brave. RING THE BELL OF FREEDOM
So grab a cup of coffee, sit down, and write a letter to your own child. After all the turbulence of recent years, a shying away from the core values that built this country, quickening encroachments on your individual freedoms — what would you would tell your “Noah” or “Emma” about the most important things in life?
“An ‘independent thinker’ who ‘has always been an outspoken proponent of common sense and truth, even when she found herself in situations where it wasn’t always welcome’.”
State of the union
Jed sometimes wonders if she will have to raise Hartley in a divorced nation, where reds and blues have called it quits. Will he have the chance to become great friends with people of opposing views, as his mom did? Or have we gotten to a point in this country where the desire to shun, censor, and cancel is so innate that he’ll never experience what real diversity of thought or conversations that grow backbones look like? What will she tell him about the old “land of the free” that stretched from sea to shining sea?
As for political labels, the born and raised Italian-American from a small condo on Staten Island behind the Mall refuses to call herself a Republican. 🐘 That’s because too many in the GOP stopped caring about debt and limited government a long time ago. The Republican establishment just doesn’t cut it for her. Jed’s a CONSERVATIVE in the real sense of the word -- small government, freedom, personal responsibility, parental rights, etc. She may be labeled an Independent because she lacks party affiliation, but she’s not a milquetoast centrist.
At all.
When it comes to issues that affect parents and schools (she taught middle school through college for years), issues like mandates, civil liberties, parental rights -- Jed is reliably on the side of freedom. She’s irrepressibly her own woman and a free thinker, and won’t defend any politician at all costs. She doesn’t fawn over politicians; she fact-checks them.
And, as a bonus, she won’t be controlled by the corporate “suits” 🪱 whose first loyalty will always be to quarterly profits, even at a price most would call irresponsible or worse. She won’t toe a line for Big Media, Big Tech, Big Pharma, or anyone else. And if there are lines that are never to be crossed – or else! – even in the name of telling the truth, she’ll happily cross them. This isn’t a time for cowards.
America is in trouble today. Big trouble. Now is the time to reverse the damage. Not just for those of us relinquishing more and more freedom every day, but for a whole next generation that may never know what basic freedoms ever looked like. She fights these battles for her child.
“If you care about your family and your country, there’s no staying quiet right now.” ~ Jedediah
“Jedediah’s background of hard work as a teacher and waitress in New York City, before finding her true passion, really hits home with me. Jedediah shares so many great lessons, from following your dreams, to trusting your gut, to navigating life’s challenges with belief in yourself. Dear Hartley is a must-read!” ”
