Book Look Review "The Wednesday Letters"

Book Look

Debbie Balzotti

Visiting book clubs in Springville...
Many Relief Societies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsor book clubs for their members. The women of the Springville 7th ward book club meet monthly to discuss a book choice. The group varies in size from month to month according to interest in the book and busy schedules, but everyone is invited to attend.

“The Wednesday Letters”
There are many writers in the Christian Lit. category that produce best sellers. Jason F. Wright wrote “The Christmas Jars” a few years ago and I thought it was an interesting and motivational story. It inspired many readers to create Christmas jars of their own filled with spare change throughout the year and then donate to someone anonymously at Christmas. It comes out as a movie this year after being on the New York Times Bestseller list. “The Wednesday Letters” is having great success as well and outgrew its local Shadow Mountain publisher thanks to publicity from Glenn Beck who is like the Oprah of the Mormon book endorsers. It continues along the same theme hoping to have readers be inspired to write love letters in their own families.

When Jack and Laurel Cooper die in each other’s arms, their three children return to the bed and breakfast the Coopers ran and discover letters written by their father to their mother. What makes these letters remarkable is that they were written every week, every Wednesday, through almost forty years of marriage. As Matthew, Malcolm, and Samantha read letters that are tender, angry, loving and revealing, they discover there was more to their family than they knew. Each adult child comes to terms with these revelations in their own way and we watch them experience grief and joy together.

“The Wednesday Letters” will have the same good-will effect as “The Christmas Jars”. Readers will write love letters to their spouses. Children will try to be more loving and understanding. It is a simply written book but I applaud the author’s effort to improve the world through his stories.