This post is brought to you by C.S. Lewis and Jane Austen
Two books arrived on my doorstep, and that has made all the difference…
Hello dear readers! I’ve struggled a bit these past few months to prioritize my writing. There’s been a recipe or two, some trail entries, and our trip to St. Augustine, but not much else. A yellow notebook holds a running list of topic ideas, and I even have a post that’s been in the draft process for weeks now, but still, my laptop lay sorely neglected. Moving, working out, meal planning and grocery shopping usually shove their way to the top of the to-do list. Timewasters, fluff and busyness all attempt to lay claim on the hours of my day. And writer’s block is real. Even on days where I had extra time, the creative juices were slow in flowing. Some of those are good excuses, I know, but as my daughter once said in her much younger years – “Excuses are pickles!”
(No, we have no idea what that means. But it’s become a family saying for all posterity. 😂)
Then one day, the stars aligned and inspiration struck, courtesy of the mailman and two extraordinary authors.
One of my goals this year is to read more, both fiction and non-fiction. I received two new books the other day, one I purchased for myself and one a gift from my hubby. Strikingly different but sharing a common theme – together they inspired this post.
The Screwtape Letters
A part of my reading goal is to read several books by C.S. Lewis. The first two were Mere Christianity and The Great Divorce, both of which I’d read before but were worthy of second go-through. (Also, they were the only two besides The Chronicles of Narnia that we already had in our collection!) After a quick search on the almighty Amazon, I decided the next on the list was The Screwtape Letters. A few days later, it sat on the TV tray next to the sofa, patiently waiting for me to dive in. I’m familiar with the premise, and have read excerpts from it, but never in its entirety. In case you haven’t heard of it, it is a series of imagined correspondence between a demon and his nephew regarding the temptation of a young British man. The idea of demons writing letters to each other… what a brilliant way to offer commentary on theological issues and the human condition!
Pride and Prejudice
My family knows I love pretty books. It might have started with a beautiful hard cover edition of Little Women my parents got me for Christmas when I was ten. Several years ago, I was gifted a red and gold bound edition of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, complete with a fold-out map. For special books, the favorites, the keepers, I always look for pretty ones. Embossed covers, gilded edges, fine paper… these are all the necessary components for a dream library, right? You know, the one with floor to ceiling bookshelves, overstuffed chairs, a rolling ladder, and a cat? 😉
I do have an inexpensive paperback of Pride and Prejudice, but the version Barry surprised me with is truly unique. Between the lovely ivory, purple, and gold covers it contains a surprise treasure. Letters. Interspersed through the book are pocket pages, each containing one or two hand-folded letters written with a quill and inkpot. The curator of this edition researched paper, handwriting styles, even addresses and postage to recreate nineteen of the letters mentioned in the story. The note from Mr. Collins to Mr. Bennett announcing his imminent arrival. The pivotal message from Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth explaining his actions and intentions. You can see them, touch them. This book is not just something to be read, it is a beautiful experience.
“The word that is heard perishes, but the letter that is written remains.”
-Anonymous
A Personal History
When I was seven, my family moved from southern California to Washington state. This marked the beginning of the letter-writing phase of my life. The grandparents still lived in California, and I sent them cute little updates fairly regularly. Can you relate at all to this?
Dear Grandma, Hi. How are you? I am fine. I got a new bunny. Her name is Blackie.
Though the content may have been trivial, I can realize now how much my grandma would have loved receiving those letters. And I wish I still had the ones she wrote back to me.
The beginning of my freshman year in high school we moved halfway around the world to the island of Guam. In true dramatic teenage fashion, I thought being so far removed from my circle of friends was the worst thing that could ever happen to me. At the risk of sounding like a dinosaur, this was back when you still had to pay extra to call anyone outside of your town. Long-distance charges from Guam to the States were $1.25/minute, so there was no way my parents were going to let me chat with my BFF for hours at a time. But we could write big fat letters to each other, and we did – letters that were sometimes a lifeline in the turbulent sea of adolescence.
And then there were love letters! 🥰Barry was in the Navy when we were dating, and we would often go months without seeing each other. And again, this was ages before texting, Instagram, or emails. Our relationship surviving those spans of ocean and time is due in part to hundreds of hand-written pages currently stuffed in a large shoebox in storage, filled with hopes and dreams, jokes and stories, doodles and Bible verses, faith and love.
“It’s funny; in this era of email and voicemail and all those things that even I did not grow up with, a plain old paper letter takes on amazing intimacy.”
-Elizabeth Kostova
3 a.m. Thoughts
When was the last time you opened your mailbox and found a letter? Or even just something that wasn’t a bill or an ad? Maybe a birthday card from your mom, or a thank you note from your friend for the baby shower gift? How did that make you feel? Has it been too long since something like that has happened?
A few days after my books were delivered, some early morning insomnia had me pondering the relational significance of the act of letter-writing.
For better or worse, the digital era has irreversibly transformed our communication methods. Gone are the days of waiting to hear news of loved ones – that information can now go to space and back and land in the phone in someone’s pocket in a second or two. I am certainly grateful for all this innovation; email, texting, Facetime, phone calls (without the extra charges) all made a world of difference when Barry was traveling for work these last few years. I love being able to quickly and easily touch base with my kids. But has our rising technology elevated quantity over quality? With all we have gained, has something good been lost? Because there is still a part of me that is nostalgic for a crinkled white envelope filled with handwritten pages.
Letters show people that they matter
In our fast-paced world of instant access and immediate (and sometimes rash) responses, letter-writing forces us to slow down, to be thoughtful, to be creative. It shows intentionality and care, and the importance of the recipient. To know that someone is willing to put in the time and effort to write their thoughts on paper, find an envelope and stamp, look up our address, and mail the thing, is a message in itself!
Letters Make Emotions Tangible
Instagram stories last a day, and texts and emails are skimmed and deleted, but letters become tangible proof of connection. There is something to be said for communication that can be seen, touched, smelled, and kept. Texts are great for an instant response, but their tone is often misunderstood, no matter how many emojis we use. Writing helps us process our thoughts and filter information. In a letter, our choice of stationery, our handwriting, even our pen color can reveal our personality and our emotions. It has the ability to impart not just the words but the presence of a person.
“Sending a handwritten letter is becoming such an anomaly. It’s disappearing. My mom is the only one who still writes me letters. And there’s something visceral about opening a letter – I see her on the page. I see her in her handwriting.”
– Steve Carell
Letters Bookmark Our Stories
Letters tell of shared history and an implied future. They are saved, reread, treasured. They are also time capsules, tokens of our personal history. Sometimes when I’m reading my Facebook memories, I’ll see a post I’ve written, and I have no idea what circumstance or event those few sentences are referring to. But if I read an old letter, it acts as a literary TARDIS – connecting me with my past and reminding me of true, deep connections I had with people.
In many ways, this blog has served as a form of letter-writing for me. It is my online diary, stories of our journeys and adventures, or just my thoughts along the way. It does require me to slow down, to be thoughtful and intentional, and to be creative. But I think I’d like to embrace my inner Jane Austen and add some real, old-fashioned letter-writing into my life as well. It will help me take a break from “screens” and foster deeper connections. Plus, it’s a great excuse to buy some pretty stationery, and maybe a fancy new pen! 😉
“A letter is not merely a message, it’s a memory, a bit of you that you choose to give to someone else.”
– Amaya Ray
Til next time, shine bright friends!
~Dawn🌻
This was very well written, I have kept many,many letters from my time in the Navy and cherish the ones I received from my beautiful wife. I think you are dead on when it comes to letters, they are like the Tardis and I love that.
The last time I received a letter it was from a Jehovah Witness I don’t know nor know how she got our names, encouraging me to instill the tenets of her faith. It was beautifully written and sincerely wrote. It was like opening a Time Machine. Bless whoever she is and what a testimony to her dedication to her religious fever and kindess in thinking of others. I may not subscribe to her book club or religious and spiritual preferences but it dawned on me that it truly was written with love for humanity in her own way.