Mary & Me: A Lasting Link Through Ink

"For thirty years, the Marys have maintained their correspondence, their connection empowered by sheets of paper. Through their letters, these two friends have been able to get through extremely difficult moments and grow as mothers, friends, and community members. Their commitment to each other is apparent within these pages. One cannot help but smile when reading how Mary Kenyon and Mary Humston have flourished through their friendship with each other." 

Kathy and I had a unique opportunity to write the forward for the upcoming book Mary & Me: A Lasting Link Through Ink. The book follows their thousands of letters through their thirty year friendship. It's always a distinct pleasure to see pen pals with strong and lengthy correspondences. What a treat to share in them with the Marys in this new book. 

Also a treat, the Marys are hosting some classes and talks to promote the book. They are having "Letter-Writing 101" workshops for women at libraries and bookstores. You can find a listing of the events on their website. The first one is August 29th (TOMORROW!) at the Carroll Public Library in Iowa. We are also hosting a give-away of a copy of the book here. EDIT: 8/31/15: The contest is now closed. To win, please leave a comment with your fondest pen pal memory. A winner will be chosen at random on Monday morning, the 31st of August, 2015. Standard L.W.A. contest rules apply (AKA you'll be asked to provide your member number to claim your prize). 

 

Comments

[Lauren]

Just wonderful to have a penpal for that long. One of my current penpals sends me little RAK mail pieces (in addition to our regular letters) and they always seem to arrive on days that I need a bit of cheering up. I keep them on my desk as a reminder of our friendship and last fall - we got to spend a whole weekend together in New York for the first time in years!

[lelainia lloyd]

When I was 12 & visited my mum who was living on her own island off the coast of British Columbia, I wrote a letter, put it in a bottle & tossed it into the ocean. A few months later, I got a letter in the mail from a girl my age whose uncle had found my message in a bottle while out on military manoeuvres with the Canadian Navy. We ended up pen pals and met when we were 15. We are now in our 40's and still in touch.

[Naomi]

I was in middle school, new in town and definitely not fitting in with my suburban classmates. I was just too weird for that place - it was the early 1980s and I was interested in music from England and the best way to spike a Mohawk while my peers were playing sports and I don't know what else. Angie Osbourne threatened to beat me up every day after school because she didn't like my style. I thought the whole world was a mess. But then I started a pen pal friendship with a boy named Clint. I think he lived in Idaho and I don't remember how we found each other in those pre-Internet days, but his letters made all the difference in my life. Not only was he into the same music as me, but he was similarly ostracized by his peers. In addition to letters we sent in extravagantly decorated envelopes, we shared music and curiosity about the world Ina way that was a lifeline to me. I only wish I knew where he is now so I could thank him for his friendship at such a vulnerable time in mr life!

[Marie Everett]

I remember having a pen pal from Belgium when I was in elementary school. As I child I felt like that was so glamorous to know someone in another country personally. Looking back I wish I had managed to continue that correspondence in to adulthood.

[Stacie]

I had a couple of short-lived correspondences with penpals in England and Australia. However, now my favorite penpals are my two young nieces. I always answer their letters and notes as promptly as I can as my goal to encourage their letter-writing endeavors.

[Nicole]

Last year I lost my beloved Grandma after her battle with cancer. I remembered reading a blog post on here about mourning stationery (back from October 2013) so I created some, and sent a quick letter to each of my penpals explaining why I wouldn't be writing to them for a while. Just a few days later, there was an amazing outpouring of love. One friend painted a watercolor portrait of my grandma as a Quentin Blake character, I received poems, quotes, flower seeds to plant in remembrance... One of my friends even asked her penpals to send me loving letters from around the world. They're tear stained, but incredibly beautiful and I'll keep them forever. The day of the funeral I carried them with me - along with the love of friends and strangers.

[Amanda]

When I was 13, I went to an academic summer program out of state. I've exchanged letters with one of the friends I made there for 21 years, and my favorite pen-palling moment was when I received a letter from her asking me to speak at her wedding. That wedding was only the 3rd time we had visited each other in person since we met in middle school, and I was so deeply touched that she wanted me there in that role.

[Christy]

Wow!
I have corresponded with a friend for just as long we are the two C's. My favourite moment was when I found out that my friend was also pregnant at forty with a boy just as I had been the year before.

Christy

[Rowena]

My favourite moment is when my penpal told me about her pregnancy, I felt really humbled and honoured that she would share such a special moment.

[Meg]

My favourite moment is when I moved at the age of 8 from New Zealand to Australia and my primary school friends sent me a package full of letters and handmade cards asking how I was going and what my new friends were like.

[Linda]

My most enjoyable pen friend is my sister who lives over 700 miles away from me. For years we have thoroughly enjoyed exchanging letters sent with enclosed little treasures and housed in artsy envelopes. Even though we talk over the phone a lot, we still covet the handwritten letters to each other...you can reread and touch a beautiful letter, but once a phone conversation is over one can't always remember every word spoken nor touch the thoughts conveyed.

[Leah Sawkins]

My favourite pen pal memory is corresponding with my childhood pen pal Lynn Lee. We were matched up through the 'Pen Pals' book series & in a matter of weeks we were best friends :O)

[Melissa]

I have many favorite penpal memories, but in sixth grade, Hallmark promoted penpals from every country. I filled out a postcard at the grocery store, and dropped it in a box. I chose England and my friend chose Greece. My friend chose not to continue to write and gave me her penpal's name and address. We're still friends to this day - it's been 28 years!

[Sarah]

My grandma would always send me postcards and letters when she traveled, it sparked a lifelong love of letterwriting for me.

[rachel]

I probably have many great pen pal memories, but I think my favorite is probably what got me into writing letters in the first place: moving from Missouri to Illinois when I was 11. This was before the days of cellphones and computers, so the only way to keep in touch with friends 300 miles away was letters. We were young, and our letters were full of talk of boys and how much we missed each other. I think that time in my life planted a deep love for letter writing in me.

[Amy]

I love all my pen pals, but the letters I cherish most are the love letters...

[Shanna]

This sounds like a fantastic book! I began my love of letter writing because of a fabulous teacher I had in the third grade. She connected me with a girl my age in New Zealand (I live in Ontario, Canada). The letters seemed to take forever to come and go, but it was SUCH FUN when one arrived. She often sent me cool little items that were sort of souvenirs from New Zealand, some of which I have still! Since her family had some relatives in Canada, I was very lucky to meet her and her whole family a couple of years after we began writing. It was so strange and exciting back then, to hear how life where she was from differed from ours and her accent was so cool, lol!
Sadly, we have not managed to keep in touch, but I have had MANY penpals in my years since. As a teen, I was a horse lover and found many wonderful penpals who "spoke horse" via the Horsemanship magazines I rec'd in the mail. The postman saw me daily in those pre-teen/early teen years, especially in the summer when I spent most of my time writing and doodling. I remember the old postman giving me heck for decorating my envelopes too much, arguing that they will never get delivered if the postperson is unable to read because of too much doodling!
So fun to read all the comments!
I have a few penpals now (at almost 40), but my fave penpal is my three year old nephew. Between him and my own 10 and 13 year old, I am determined that they will know the joy of sending and receiving mail! My fave thing to send him right now, besides the note/postcard, is mini Robert Munsch story books - tiny enough to fit and so much fun! Recently, though, I had a hoot mailing him the Spiderman underpants

Link to blog post if you are interested:
http://bananastamper.blogspot.ca/2015/07/are-you-missing-some-spidey-underpants.html

that he left at my house - he sure thought that was fun! I love keeping him on his toes and wondering what he crazy Auntie will send next!

Thank you for your constant inspiration and encouragement. I often share your posts with my 10 year old in hopes of keeping him interested in mail and letters - a challenge in these times. He is the one I sent a link about many months back who was inspired by your costume post and dressed up as a Canada Post box for Halloween - my fave costume yet!

Cheers,
Shanna
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada