Dear Meg: Advice on life, love, and the struggle

by Meg Yarcia

This book is a collection of advice columns written by a psychologist and fellow activist named “Meg,” and published under the title “Dear Meg: in progressive new magazine Pinoy Weekly (dot org) and in a Facebook Page bearing the column’s name.

Judging from its reception in social media, it is popular among what could be inferred as its target audience — leftist activists and socially-conscious Filipinos in the Philippines and in the diaspora who can read English and enjoy regular internet connection, or those belonging to the middle classes in short. It has a small but loyal fan base that seems to always read and share the columns, which admirable given that these do not come our regularly.

Genres: Nonfiction

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Max Cardoso · Rating 5 out of 5]

sometimes i find some of these self-help books not helping at all (the subtle art of not giving a f*ck CATCH IT) but here all these letter Meg wrote feels comforting and reassuring. i like how she emphasizes the importance of community and gives advice through the lens of marxism.

love this book so much.

[Fantaghiro23 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a comforting and curious book of advice, offering an important glimpse into how humane Marxism can be.

[Levi]

Great read if you're going through stuff, especially people who chose the thankless but ultimately noble life of activism.

[Mary Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartfelt (tagos sa puso) entries and responses from Meg about struggles of Filipinos from varying backgrounds. I especially appreciate Meg's framing of our personal issues in relation to the ills of the society. Indeed, we don't exist in a vaccuum, and our personal struggles are often linked to the bigger problems faced by our communities, country, and the global society. I haven't read or seen much Filipino self-help books and this is probably the only one I came across. I hope we get to read more in the future. We need more "self-help" books that are not merely repetitive preachings of productivity and the western idea of development and progress.

[Sasha Dalabajan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Meg's letters feels like a reassuring hug.

[Raissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading each letter, sometimes you can really feel the weight of the words. But Meg's responses are always warming to the heart, full of sense, and does not promise any quick fix which also makes me, as a reader, feel seen and hopeful. The simplicity of Meg's replies draws an image of collective action and caring for others, which makes me remember how we are not alone.

[xoxo.rozi · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my classmate lend me this book. It’s about activists’ struggles and are asking for advices. There are many admirable and impactful insights that were shared by the author. The book is well written and is open for all to read, activists or non-activists. Kudos to the author <3

[ctel buergo · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A friend in your pocket," sabi nila. Totoo naman.

[icy]

this book was so reassuring and comforting. thinking about it, this would have saved my past self during quarantine. abante, we have a long way to go!

[kierreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

god i love this book

[Greg Guillen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Activism is a noble path for anyone to follow. Hearing advice given to many kasamas who have similar issues to myself gives me strength to continue the struggle for liberation.

[Ingrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful!

[tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

TRULY a comforting read