Letters for Emily

I'm a sucker for an epistolary novel, and that's what made me grab Camron Wright's novel, Letters for Emily from a recent library sale. I went on the final day of the library sale when you can fill a grocery bag with all the books you can for just $5. I selected a few books that I'd heard of and wanted to read, planning to read them first and then bring them to the beach condo that we rent out for our guests to read. I then promptly forgot about the bag of books.

Until yesterday. I needed to photograph a stack of something for one of my daily photo challenges and thought that those long forgotten books would stack up nicely.

Yesterday was the 67th day in the house due to covid-19 and I was feeling a bit restless. So after I photographed the books, I picked up this slim novel, thumbed thru it, and decided to sit down and start it. A few hours later, I had finished the entire novel.

It's a very sweet book. A grumpy old man dealing with dementia clearly loves his favorite grandchild, Emily. It's also important for him that his family remember him as his better self, the one he was before he got sick. So each day, during his lucid moments, Harry works on a book for Emily.

After his death, Emily's mom finds three copies of a handmade book of poems created especially for 7-year old Emily. She keeps one copy for Emily, gives another to her estranged husband, Bob, who is Harry's son. The third copy goes to Bob's sister, Michelle. Each poem in the book holds the clue to being able to open a file on Harry's computer where there is a letter written to Emily. Each letter is meant to give Emily a life lesson. It's clear that each letter is meant to teach a lesson to all the members of Harry's family.

The novel, which is based on letters that Harry Wright wrote for his grandchild, is very creatively written. And the lessons are ones that are valuable to anyone. It was a fluke that I found this novel and that I read it. But for a nice, sweet, inspiring novel, I would highly recommend this.