A lovely collection of short letters to encourage and support women who have breast cancer. (Though men can and do get breast cancer, many of the letters assume the reader is a woman, as the book's subtitle indicates.)
A friend gave me this book when I was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, and it was just what I needed to feel supported. It makes a perfect gift.
Most of the letters are written by women, some of whom are fellow survivors. There are a few letters here and there from men and children. I was impressed to find that letters from teenagers showed remarkable wisdom. In my reading, for every letter that did not quite resonate with me, there was at least one other that said exactly the words I needed to hear/read.
It's probably best not to read this book cover-to-cover in one sitting; instead, keep it nearby and pick it up whenever you need a little comfort.
Overall extremely uplifting, but with a twinge of bittersweetness with the realization that complete strangers were able to provide more meaningful support than some of my own friends and family. Then again, these letters must have been carefully curated out of thousands to include only the most powerful and heartfelt words.
It's worth noting that all the letters in this book are printed as they were originally handwritten. I loved the beautiful pages of colorful stationery and doodles, and I enjoyed each letter-writer's unique penmanship. It occurs to me that maybe a younger generation of survivors might not appreciate the handwriting as much, since many schools no longer teach cursive.
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