February 11, 2009 6:49 PM

'Amber's Guide For Girls'

By
Polly Leider
(CBS)  When you think of Amber Mariano you probably think of "Survivor" or "The Amazing Race."

But Amber has added "author" to her resume, with the publication of her first book, "Amber's Guide For Girls — Advice On Fame, Family, Fashion And More."

Amber sat down with The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler to talk about her book, which takes a fun approach to offering advice to young girls.

It has been five years since Amber's first appearance on "Survivor."

"Ever since then, I've received so many letters, mainly from young girls ages 9 to 13 or so, or their parents saying, 'Thank you so much for being such a great role model for my daughter, and 'you set such a good example,'" Amber said.

"I took at as a huge compliment. I thought it would be fun to give something to them."

Amber says she wants girls to know that she had fears and insecurities, just as they do.

"I think a lot of girls look at celebrities … and think, 'Oh, gosh, they never went through this,'" she told Syler. "I had pimples, too, and had my heart broken, too."

The book deals with some serious topics, which she discussed with Syler.

Peer Pressure
"Listen to your gut and it's going to tell you what to do," Amber said. "If you are being pressured by your friends, then your friends will understand if you don't want to do something they are doing.

"If they don't understand, then maybe they shouldn't be your friends."


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