Ask Elizabeth

It happened by coincide but I reconnected with Elizabeth Berkley in March after many years. We both had done stints at MGM. I was in marketing and she had been promised the role of a lifetime in Showgirls. We started to talk and share this moment in time. The beloved Saved By The Bell star said as a dancer she was always hyper self-critical, but her self-esteem hit an all-time low in a very public way thanks to the brutal reviews and ridicule she received for “Showgirls” (1995). The studio was looking for major notoriety and this Vegas exotic-dancer tale that was supposed to relaunch MGM and launch Elizabeth’s big-screen career  instead became an NC-17-rated punch line that garnered her two Razzie Awards.

I had always rooted for Elizabeth and we suddenly met again through Big Brothers Big Sisters and The Blonde and The Brunette, after all these years and just as her new book, Ask Elizabeth, was about to debut. Elizabeth personally gave me a copy and I devoured it. I’m obviously not a teenager; but, I think we can all relate  and remember so many issues in the process of growing up and sometimes the pain lingers-for a lifetime. Elizabeth frankly and honestly deals with it all because she lived it and more importantly she has a deep repore with her audience.

As we’ve all experienced, sometimes you don’t know someone is out there trying to support you, maybe someone has your back while you are dealing with unfathomable issues or there is a light at the end of the long tunnel-especially when you are a teenager. Elizabeth has risen like a phoenix and in her new book provides teenagers (and you) Real Answers to Everything You Secretly Wanted to Ask About Love, Friends, YourBody… and Life in General. She is the wind at your back.

From her pain she began the process of healing and has pulled us all along with her. It happened slowly . She has this aura that encourages honestly and communication. Filled with girls’ questions from real encounters— along with her late godmother’s involvement in Chicago’s Horizons for Youth organization — Elizabeth began to host seminars in 2006, to set up a website and to write a book, all with the name “Ask Elizabeth,” all offering insights and big-sisterly encouragement to teen girls. The book, released by Putnam in March, is like a lavish scrapbook, designed by Berkley and her husband, Greg Lauren. It is filled with reflections (and some guest expert opinions) on such queries as “What do you do when you look in the mirror and hate what you see?” and “How do I know if I’m in a bad mood or if I’m depressed?”

As we all know, at the end of the day, it’s not enough to be beautiful on the outside, it’s all about feeling good and being beautiful on the inside. Thank you, Elizabeth. Get the book. http://ask-elizabeth.com/ and share the love. I also think I see a daytime show in her future. She may just be the next Oprah.

xo

NJ, The Brunette