Dear friends,
Some people write books to make headlines. Some people write books to earn money. And some people write books for the ego feed or the pure, soaring satisfaction of seeing it in print. Been there, done all of that. What I write for now is to connect, to touch other people, to move them to smile or cry. So you can imagine how I felt this week when I received the following email, from a woman in Florida:
Dear Mr. Chutkow,
This is a fan letter to you, your family and the memory of Zelda, whom I assume has now gone to doggy heaven. I am writing to you on behalf of two friends. Every Monday I read to Paul and Ellen. He is now 101, in great shape and swims laps almost every day. She is only about 90… plays the piano beautifully, even though she lost her vision a few years ago…
I and they are delighted with your book. It is magic to read aloud. Tomorrow we start the trip from Paris to the Napa Valley and we are nearing the end of the book. We are devastated! And, we thank you for telling us about this whimsical little pi dog that joined your family in Delhi, Paris and Napa. I have traveled in all three places and loved being back there with you.
I note in your bio that you are from Highland Park, Illinois. Both Paul and I graduated from Northwestern, in different years, however. I am only 85!
With best wishes,
Diana
-O-
What a beautiful note! And how wonderfully satisfying it is to me to learn that I and our little ragamuffin street dog from India have brought smiles to Paul, Ellen and Diana. I tell you, folks, notes like these make it all worth it…