Yours Truly

Women of Letters

by Marieke Hardy (Editor), Michaela McGuire (Editor)

What dark gastronomic slip does Annabel Crabb have to confess to an unsuspecting guest?

How did Mary Anderson change the life of Frank Woodley – despite the fact the two of them have never met?

How did a plate of steak teach Missy Higgins a firm lesson about not being too hard on herself?

The act of letter writing allows us to slow down and truly connect, with a person, a subject, an idea. At their hugely popular Women of Letters events, Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire encourage and allow our best and brightest to lay bare their sins and secrets, loves and loathings, memories and plans. Collected here for the first time, these dispatches from Australia's favourite people are warm, wonderful and astoundingly honest.

Genres: Nonfiction, Short Stories, Essays

464 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2013

About the author

Marieke Josephine Hardy is a screenwriter, author, blogger, radio presenter, and part-time mud wrestler. She is a little bit taller than Uncanny X-Men lead singer Brian Mannix, though doesn’t fill out a pair of leather trousers nearly as neatly.

She makes host Jennifer Byrne’s life an abject misery once a month on the ABC’s The Book Club. A collection of her essays, You’ll Be Sorry When I’m Dead, was released in August.

Reviews

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 4 out of 5]

To the Women (and men) of Letters,

Having enjoyed your second publication, Sincerely, arising from the literary stage show conceived by Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire, I was delighted for the opportunity to read this third curated collected, titled Yours Truly.

I was pleased to see such an eclectic group of female and male contributors, 80 altogether, including journalist, Jenifer Byrne, comedienne, Corinne Grant, author, Toni Jordan, cricket legend, Merv Hughes, Spiderbait drummer, Kram and radio/TV funny man, Hamish Blake. There were a few names I didn't recognise and though helpfully you provide a brief bio of each at the back of the book, I would still prefer the information included at the end of each letter.

I enjoy the way in which the tone of the letters veer from the intimate and serious to the irreverent and comedic. It ensures the collection holds my interest and makes for a comfortable read through, though it would also be easy for a reader to dip in and out of at will. I enjoyed all of the letters but there were several that stood out for me including Annabel Crabb's secret betrayal of Marieke Hardy, Zora Sanders petty crime confession, Tracey Spicer's letter to Mr Misogynist, William McInnes ode to Wendy, the speed skater who changed his life, and Dani Valent's missive to her daughter.

What I also like about the Letter's collection is the way in which they make me think about how I would respond to the topics. What secret would I share? What petty crime would I confess? What unfinished business would I address and, of course, which woman has changed my life?

I have enjoyed the time I spent with this celebration of the lost art of letter writing and its collection of 'cathartic confessions, passionate declarations and vivid recollections'. Thank you, women (and men) of letters for sharing with me.

Yours Truly,

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the letters were brilliant, hilarious, heart-warming, and wonderful examples of the art of letter-writing. Some of the others were self-serving/full of in-jokes/boring. Like any collection of writing from a number of different people, quality does vary. Nonetheless, the highlights make it worthwhile (and by the end, I was giving myself permission to skip through the boring ones - after all, almost 500 pages of letters is a lot to take in).
My favourites:
Clairy Browne's letter to her arse (Theme: To that thing on my body) was empowering and inspirational.
Alexandra Shepisi's letter to time (Theme: To that thing I yearn for) was just right.
Georgia Fields' letter to 3 year old Isobel (Theme: To the person who told me the truth) was hilarious representation of the wonderful world of children.
Hamish Blake & Zoe Foster Blake's letters to each other (Theme: to my other half) was an funny exception in a sea of boring, saccharine love letters.

[Bree T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire have been reviving the lost art of writing letters. Beginning with Women of Letters, they invited women to write a letter on a certain topic and then read it aloud at a live event and later released the letters in book form. The events proved to be very popular and last year they invited men to join the party and released a second collection of letters entitled Sincerely (Women of Letters). This is the third collection and once again contains letters from both men and women of all walks of life (but mostly creative types) writing letters to a variety of topics.

I’m a bit of a sucker for the written letter and it really is a bit of a lost art these days, replaced by the instant accessibility of exchange in the form of emails. When I was in late primary school/early high school I used to have several pen pals including a couple from overseas. And then when I was 16 I got an email address and fell in love with the fact that I could talk to my friend, who I hadn’t seen in years without having to wait the 1-2 weeks between letters. However, I still retain a soft spot for the traditional form of communication. I think it’s why I keep all my family’s birthday cards, the anniversary cards, the Mother’s Day cards, the Father’s Day cards. I enjoyed the Sincerely collection when I read and reviewed it last year and I was pleased when this book turned up on my doorstep. I hadn’t known that a new collection was out and these books are perfect for people who like to read in bits and pieces. You can read 1 letter at a time or you can sit down and read the entire book.

With such participants as Hamish Blake and Zoë Foster Blake (writing to each other about what to write about in their letters about writing to each other in a truly amusing exchange), William McInnes, Sarah Blasko, Annabel Crabb, Jennifer Byrne, Tracey Spicer, Toni Jordan, Andy Griffiths, Corrine Grant, Bob Brown, Frank Woodley, Kram, Leigh Sales, Merv Hughes and many more, encompassing such topics as To The Woman That Changed My Life, To A Secret, To The History I’d Like To Rewrite, To My Biggest Sacrifice, To My Petty Crimes and others, Yours Truly runs the gauntlet from beautiful, sad pieces (such as my favourite in the entire collection, Emilie Zoe Baker’s confession of her secret affair with a guilty food pleasure and how it relates to a person in her past that she loved and who couldn’t love her the same way in return) to the humerous to the whimsical to the slightly horrifying (Annabel Crabb’s confession to curator and vegan, Marieke Hardy).

When I was reading it, I was part enjoying the stories and part thinking about what I might say myself for some of these topics. Some, such as To My Petty Crimes brought back memories of my own childhood as a popular theme seemed to be childhood shoplifting. I remember sneaking a chocolate myself from a supermarket before I understood the concept of paying – my mother was very quick to inform me of that and make sure that I did not repeat it! Also when I was old enough to know better, I stole a very ugly orange bangle from a cheap jewelry store just because I could really. I didn’t even like it. I hate orange. In a store full of cheap ugly jewlry, it was the cheapest ugliest thing in there! The Woman Who Changed My Life, I would dedicate that letter to my lovely Nan who plied me with books in my childhood – first the BabySitters Club, then Sweet Valley High and then she passed on her own books. She is the reason I read so much today, she is the reason I have a deep love of books. I can remember she used to always take me out for lunch, maybe a bit of shopping and the day would always end in her making me a new book purchase. I have fond memories of those days (which lasted really until I went away to university) and even now when I visit she likes to sit down with me and talk about what she has read recently. She is in her 80s now and very recently widowed and I know that every moment we have is precious. There are other topics that make me think of things deeply personal, things that I can’t imagine standing up on a stage in front of an audience and reading a letter aloud. It’s admirable, these people that lay themselves and their moments on the line for people to go and see and then read about in these volumes.

Yours Truly is another highly enjoyable collection.

[Andrea Hurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do love this series of books for a few reasons. Firstly, because it supports Edgar's Mission which is a fabulous thing. But also because it gives you an insight into people. You may not know everyone who contributed a letter (I didn't), but the variety of writing styles and topics will keep you turning pages at a rapid rate. As always, I don't like everyone's writing style, but the short letter format means you can skim forward to the next letter guilt free. There are some gems amongst this collection. As always the more honest and open letters appealed to me, and the inclusion of the Men of Letters never disappoints. The Women of Letters books celebrate communication, openess, thoughts and words. It gets people to look at aspects of themselves and their relationships and be brave enough to share this with us. I, for one, would like to thank them.

[Miss Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a great concept conceived by Marieke and Michaela... the "shows" reach out and touch your heart. Each person gives of themself when they share their "letters"... their words, their stories, their hearts, their feelings, their secrets... themselves.
You feel blessed and privileged to be a part of that experience and that gift. Reading the book is great and there is such diversity (like the shows and the people themselves) though self-depreciation is one thread that runs strongly through these tales.
I love the stories that give me the chance to glimpse at the 'hidden self' these public figures have. Being a personality means that the audience feels a sense of kinship with you - like we "know" you but these letters often prove that of course, there is so much more to a person, not just their public face

[Kartika Dwi Baswara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women of Letters is a book consists of compilation of love letters from time to time, from various people coming from a wide range of background as well. The similarity they share is how each letters feel really raw and personal; allowing the readers to have a joyous dive into their loves, memories, and plans.
As a fan of writing and reading letters, simply because it allows me to slow down and truly connect with a person or an idea, reading this book has the power of fulfilling my side of being a hopeless romantic, and reminds me that love is not a one-size-fits-all fixture.
Overall, this book is a beautiful reminder of how pleasing having slow communication can be. To just lay down, relax, and read between the lines for an afternoon tea while unfolding the confession and declaration of love from these women.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this! As with any collection, the results were fairly mixed. Most of the letters were interesting, a few were amazing and memorable, and only a few were incredibly dull. Lawrence Mooney's sexist tripe was absolute garbage, and there were another few that I felt didn't really fit with the tone of the rest of the collection, but when each letter is only 3-5 pages it's pretty easy to just skim past the rubbish ones.

My absolute favourites were from Corinne Grant, Frank Woodley (why doesn't he do more writing?!), Tracey Spicer, Annabel Crabb, Charlotte Dawson and Georgia Fields. [mainly just leaving these here as I note to myself, for when I want to go back and read the best ones!]

Varied but worthy.

[Georgia Hansard · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75/5

"And, of course, I wept, but they were tears of joy, because you had so perfectly and innocently reminded me that sadness is an emotion that passes, like the waves, and sometimes it is something you can take off, like a mask. I smiled more broadly and honestly and wholeheartedly than I had in months. And we went on to build a really cool sandcastle"

"Life had meaning. It had solidarity"

"Because what you survive and how you survive it will be your history. You will trip and fall- sometimes painfully- but it will be living through trials and triumphs in which your identity will be formed. Know that you will never fail to get back up when you are knocked down"

[Shelley Kowalski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it! Some letters were very serious, some heartfelt and bought a tear to my eye, some comedic and had me laughing out loud! It often had me thinking.. Who would I write to and what would I say, which forced me to think back to my own childhood and teenage years to search for secrets or petty crimes I committed!

[Toni Umar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so disappointed with this collection of letters as I was expecting to be enthralled. Many of the letters were not at all entertaining, quite boring in fact. Some were excellent, but just not enough to give the overall book a 2 star only rating.

[Raelene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of letters was a book of extremes - Some of great, thoughtful writing and some really dire, frivolous writing. I loved the concept tho and wonder if the first book of the collection (this is the 3rd I believe) is better.

[Robs Mcevoy]

Most enjoyable. Easy read ...

[Chele · Rating 4 out of 5]

A smorgasbord of lovely.

[Helen King · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up at the library and thought I'd give it a read. A mixed bag, but so lovely to read the different styles of writing, the different depths that people would choose to pitch their letters, and some fairly raw approaches taken. Poignant to read Charlotte Dawson's letter about just finding the right person, given that she is no longer with us. Overall, encouraging to see how Australians (some better known than others) express something that has impacted on them, and how they have grown through the experience (even when the growth has been very incidental!)

[Merideth Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

The quality of writing varied hugely. Sometimes less is more. Way too many dull entries.