Greetings, Letter Enthusiasts! The TGLR P.O. Box was recently gifted with an advanced copy of
Mary & Me: A Lasting Link Through Ink by co-authors Mary Potter Kenyon and Mary Jedlicka Humston. Today marks this book's debut as it is made available through Familius Publishing.
This collection of essays, alternating in turns from one Mary to the other is an intimate look at friendship and the shared joys and triumphs of a connection that has endured over decades. Despite distance and the demands of every day life, the two Marys have made letter writing an every day ritual - one that sustains not only their friendship, but their sense of self and peace of mind. "Our letters became lifelines," writes Humston, referring to the hundreds of letters that the Marys penned to each other through the joys of family life, rigors of child rearing, the personal successes, the coping with illness, and the suffering of loss.
Inter-working guest essays,
Mary & Me gives a diverse look into the various kinds of friendships that can be forged and offers a study of the complexities and delights of forming close bonds. Although much more than a book about letter writing,
Mary & Me highlights the therapeutic nature of connecting with others through correspondence. In reading this personal account of the Kenyon/Humston friendship, it serves as a reminder of the power of letters to break down barriers in friendship forming, to bring together unlikely, but surprisingly enjoyable connections, to allow moments of sharing and reflection, and to provide a means to recover internal peace.
To further explore the themes of friendship and letter writing, the co-authors include an extensive "Suggested Resources" section that will prove quite useful to their readers.
Pick up your copy of
Mary & Me today through
amazon!