Storytelling and Reaching Out Through Letter Writing

During the holidays we receive and often write letters to loved ones and friends. How many of us have found it more difficult to write eloquent enclosures in cards this year? It seems that in the days of texting, tweets, emails, and photo cards we take less time and opportunities to express ourselves through a written letter.

A recent popular historical fiction I've listened to is "Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I" , by Hazel Gaynor.  It is a collection of letters written between friends and family members who live in England and are serving in France.   The letter writing of two of the characters Evelyn and Thomas is engaging and full of life.  They rekindle a relationship as well as provide support for each other during very difficult times. Evelyn remarks in one letter, "Letters make one uncomfortably honest." Their writings provide inspiration for an almost lost art.

Another wonderful result of letter writing is the archival quality of that moment in time. Have you have enjoyed rereading a box of old letters or post card? I recently found a box of letters written by my mother to my father before they were married. What a wonderful gift to "hear her voice" as a nineteen year old experiencing life and love.

The library has a treasure trove of books written in many different styles and offering reflections and inspiration. Epistolary novels (books written using documents, such as letters or diary entries) engage us in an almost voyeuristic manner and we become part of the story as we read them.

Another popular epistolary novel, written as letters, is "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shafer. For a wonderful book series written as diary entries, "The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.", by Sandra Gulland, presents a historical fiction of Josephine Bonaparte relating an "intimate portrait" of life with Napoleon. A popular read among young adults is "The Perks of Being a Wall Flower" by Stephen Chbosky or try an old favorite, "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. "Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I" is available as an audiobook via Hoopla today or place a hold today on this popular read.