Letters help us share ourselves

There are two things I find very striking about the beautiful opinion piece, The Gift of Shared Grief,  published in yesterday’s New York Times: 1) It is one of the top trending stories and 2) I never cease to be amazed by the innate human desire to hold a thing belonging to someone we love and/or cared for after they pass.

The whole purpose of this website is to encourage people to write more letters. Letters function on so many levels. They are meditative in how they require you to stop and focus. They provide joy to both the sender and receiver. They are a part of you - you touched the letter physically and you touch the receiver  emotionally. And it can be a keepsake.

Recently, I learned some new details about a friend’s death 30 years ago. I immediately thought of the drawings she sent me in college and needed to find them. That then led me to want to see my mother’s handwriting. She died 15 years ago and two physical things make me feel so connected to her - her gold Rolex watch and her handwriting. 

The article in the Times touches on all of these points and clearly touched many readers as it rose up the top trending list. It’s a heartwarming reminder that we are all the same on some level. We all want connection. We all want to be loved. And we want to remember and be remembered. Letters accomplish all of that. Write!!!