Sincerely

Women of Letters

by Marieke Hardy

With sold-out live events around the country and a bestselling book, Women of Letters have revived the gentle art of letter writing. In this all-new collection of missives, a dazzling array of noteworthy Australians share their wisdom, wit and wildest dreams. Here Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire have preserved a year of captivating correspondence. The irresistible line-up features Kate Miller-Heidke writing 'A love letter' to her twelve-year-old self; Di Morrissey recounting a dramatic encounter with a brood of chooks and a wily fox in a letter 'To a little white lie'; and Ita Buttrose imagining an alternative life as an opera singer as she writes 'To the life I could have lived'. A wide range of gentlemen friends have been welcomed into the fold as well, with correspondents including Shaun Micallef, Julian Burnside, Hamish Blake and David Williamson all penning letters 'To the woman who changed my life'. This funny, touching and charming collection is a delightful presentation of Australian talent from all walks of life. All royalties for this book will go to Edgar's Mission animal rescue shelter

Genres: Short Stories, Pop Culture, Nonfiction

403 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 24, 2012

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]

Women of Letters originated as a literary stage show conceived by Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire. The events, which also operate as a fundraiser for the Edgar Mission for abused,neglected and abandoned farm animals, have become a national sensation, traveling around the country with a changing cast, inviting audience participation and discussion. While the initial contributors were all female, the addition of Men of Letters has proved as popular.
Sincerely is the second curated volume of letters addressing prompts such as 'To the Woman who changed my life...', and 'To the person I misjudged' by 75 contributors.

The format of this book makes it easy to pick up and put down, though I read it straight through. Each contributor is given a subject but may interpret it anyway they wish. There is enough variety in the responses by subjects to maintain interest from Jaqui Paynes missives to her six children to Libbi Gorr waxing poetic about her iPhone. The tone of the letters veer from the intimate and serious to the irreverent and comedic. While Kamahl, for example, pays tribute to his wife of 45 years with a touching poem, Tim McGuire thanks Buffy the Vampire Slayer for all she taught him.
I can honestly say I enjoyed reading all of the letters though I did have my favourites including Kristina Olsson's love letter to the alphabet, Morag Kobez-Halvorson's letter to her health, Catherine Deveny's unapologetic rant, and Virgina Gay's ode 'To the Life I Could Have Lived'.
I would have liked the biographical information included with each letter rather than at the back of the book, as many of the letter writers were unfamiliar to me by name and the context of identity would have been useful to me.

I was tempted to write this review in the form of a letter but I thought that would be a little too obvious. Sincerely is a celebration of life, love and the lost art of letter writing, a wonderful collection and I hop[e to be able to one day attend an event.

[Pip · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! (Also I was lucky enough to be included in this book amongst STELLAR company... perhaps it was a mistake! ) x

[Steve lovell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sincerely – Women of Letters – Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire (ed)

The title's a bit of a misnomer, as there are blokes in there too, and this, the second volume is an improvement on tome one. That is no mean feat as it was pretty impressive too. As with the original our editors allocate prominent Australians topics to address in letter form.

I had two complaints about the last time around and one of those, whether intentionally or not, has been addressed. There was a marked reduction in 'f-bombs' – only a few chose to sully an otherwise fine contribution with an injudicious over use of them – I have no problems with a judicious sprinkling. This, in my view, resulted in the collection being 'softer' – the letters were seemingly more heartfelt, even quite poignant in some cases. This time there wasn't so much stretching to be 'edgy', to confront, as in the original volume.

There were some special pieces here – I can think of only one effort I moved on from unfinished. Clever was Kristina Olsen's paean to the alphabet, and the same could be said for the way George Negus twisted his prose ode to 'the woman who changed is life'. Being a fan of the Go-Betweens, I was moved by Joe Laffer's epistle of tribute to the late, great Grant McLennan. From what I've already discerned about Joe, as well as a terrific singer, he is a young man of definite substance. His piece on the writer of 'Cattle and Cane' and other classics only reinforces that notion.

Julian Burnside's 'Dear Jenny', a tale of how his mother-in-law helped shaped the author's activism, also demonstrates how the meanspiritness of the Howard years has diminished the traditional Aussie axiom of a 'fair go' for all. It is yet to be revitalised by any current political leader. Did a Tracey Lehman cause Adam Elliot's sexual proclivity? In his letter the Oscar winner presents a convincing case that this may well be the case. The cruel streak of the ilk of that little miss in the playground, something I unfortunately witnessed many times over the course of my forty years' teaching, is a feature of my former calling I do not miss. Kamahl's undying love for his Sahodra is sweetly presented, as is Justin Heazleward's love for his Tasmanian nan. Deborah Conway’s description of busy family activity is suffused with gentle humour, particularly when a most personable canine is added to give life some extra lustre of sorts. Emily Maguire's contribution is something I could have well used in my teaching days to counter the Tracey Lehmans I came across, for she was, according to her letter, inclined to behave deplorably towards her peers as well. The wonderful Samantha Lane, one of my favourite 'Agony Aunts', reminded us all just how important the right natural body smell is to relationships. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat you may exclaim! Read it, and see what she means.
.
For various reasons the above were the standouts for me, but truly there was hardly a dud. And the other complaint not addressed? Still there was the constant fumbling in the back pages that I had to engage in to get a handle on those personages whose contribution to our Australia I was not familiar with – so much simpler to give the potted biographies immediately after their wordsmithery, surely!!!!

Now it is a given that male fantasies and Marieke Hardy go hand in hand, do they not? She would definitely appear on this thinking man's list of the world's most alluring women. Perhaps an indulgence, but can I daydream that, perhaps in a parallel universe, she could mistake me for George Negus – not too much of a stretch I feel – and therefore ask me for a considered letter to 'the woman who changed my life'. If this were to be the case, it would go something like this:-

My Darling Loving Partner
I was tempted by your letter describing yourself and I was tempted by your phone voice all those years ago. Already we differed in one regard – you were/are a phone person, I am a man of letters – but when you sent me your first photo, all that was quickly irrelevant – I was smitten. It was a portrait taken in your capacity as a maternity nurse – and you were cradling a new born. I was in adoration before we had even met. I fell in love with a photo. I've had similar feelings in recent times watching you so lovingly cradle your grandson, the impish and highly personable Little Ford Man, as well as my own gorgeous Tessa Tiger. My wonderful Kate's pregnancy wasn't the easiest, but you were there for her, giving advice and the encouragement she needed. It meant something coming from someone so well versed in the area; it being a major factor in getting her through that difficult time, along with her own bravery, resilience and determination. How can I ever thank you enough for that? It was the same when my son was going through a tough patch of a different sort. Your soothing words and sage presence gave me the strength I needed to help him. How can I ever thank you enough for that?

As soon as we met I knew – I knew I wanted you in my life and I was so impatient with my own shortcomings that could mean I wouldn't measure up. Somehow I did, and these almost two decades spent with you have been the happiest of my life.

That photographic image all those years ago conveyed the essence of you as a person, and you have never deviated from that essence in all these years I've shared your world. First and foremost is your humanity- never more to the fore when helping friends going though tough times, such as when we were losing our beautiful Bev. There is your strength – starting from scratch from the ashes of a marriage with your Ilsa and Alex to guide through their young lives, and being there for them, and other family members, when loved ones passed on. As is your just desserts, as adults Alex and Ilsa are both a credit to you. There is your unfailing glass half fullness – your optimism is a daily fillip to all with whom you come in contact. There is your sense of humour, always there when I get above myself, always there to create laughter in any situation. Your ease with other people, and your ability to make those people feel special, are hallmarks of your incomparable generosity of spirit. I am so much a better person having you in my world.

There is so much more that I adore about you. There is your ability to make much from little, as nurses are so poorly remunerated for all their caring and skills. Your culinary expertise is impressive. You have created a wonderful home for me to share with our imperfectly perfect abode on the banks of the Derwent. There is the care you take with your self presentation that always means I am so proud to have you on my arm. You've even had a go at improving my lousy fashion sense. You have an artist's eye, and an attention to detail that escapes me. You see where I need to change and gently guide me there, not with haranguing, but with humour and encouragement. You have made me more tolerant and calmer – although you'd probably reflect there is still away to go.

When I met you I was a muddle, but now contentment fills my world. I know there are still challenges ahead, but with you beside me, I feel better equipped to meet them. I love the life we have together and I love that you know when to give me space to be me. I appreciate that you trust me, and, even though I may on occasions flap like a seagull or become Mr Wobbly, you seem able to put up with it.

When your hand reaches out and settles on the small of my back in the dark of the night, I know that heaven is truly here on earth. You are all I want, all I need till the end of my days. You are my love – now and always.
Your man

[Bree T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women Of Letters has been reviving the art of letter writing recently. Australian women of all different backgrounds, from all different occupations were given a topic and asked to write a letter. Then, at sold out events around the country, they would read these letters to an audience.

In this volume, Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire have preserved a year’s worth of correspondence and this time around it seems men have been invited to the party too. The likes of Shaun Micallef, Kamahl, Rhys Muldoon and Hamish Blake are alongside singer Kate Miller-Heidke, Libbi Gorr, Emily Maguire, Di Morrissey and Helen Marcou. All proceeds from this book go to Edgar’s Mission, a not-for-profit sanctuary for neglected, abused and discarded farm animals.

This review is different to probably any other review I’ve written before, because for the first time, I don’t have a plot to talk about. This book is comprised entirely of letters. There are 15 topics for the letters, including A Complaint Letter, To My Most Treasured Possession To The Woman Who Changed My Life, To A Little White Lie and To The Life I Could Have Lived to name just a few. The letters are brief and the people who wrote them all very different. Many I didn’t know and it was nice to have a handy information file at the back of the book but perhaps it would’ve been better served to have that bio at the beginning of their letter, as I was forever flipping back and forth to learn about people I wasn’t familiar with.

The format of this book lends it to being able to be put down and then picked back up again extremely easily. It was a great one to read whilst doing other things (cooking dinner, running the kids bath, waiting for my husband to be ready to go somewhere, etc). It was surprising how engrossed I became in some of the letters, I marked this book with no less than fourteen post-it notes, each one denoting a letter that I related to, or really enjoyed the writing of. Some of these I read over and over, especially Jacqui Payne’s love letter to each of her children and the way she had raised them as full-time working mother. I also really connected with Kate Miller-Heidke’s advice filled letter to her 12 year old self, Kristina Olsson’s love letter to the alphabet, Helen Marcou’s complaint letter, Morag Kobez-Halvorson’s lament of the loss of her health and how she took it for granted, Angie Hart’s letter to the best decision she ever made and Emily Maguire’s letter to the people she misjudged.

I think I doubly enjoyed this book because I really love (or should I say loved, as there’s not really a lot of need for it anymore) writing letters. When I was 11, I moved away to a new town and my best friend and I wrote letters to each other every week for approximately the next 6-7 years. Around the time we graduated high school, emailing and texting took over because it was so much more immediate but throughout out university years, every now and then one of us would bang out a traditional letter while we were especially bored in a lecture. I also had numerous overseas pen pals when I was younger, the first of which I acquired through my primary school who was a girl my age from Trinidad and Tobago. I’d never heard of it but after I received my first letter, I became an expert on the area! I still wonder what happened to Tennille – as we grew older our letters grew less and less frequent, I moved, probably forgot to forward on my new address and eventually they just dried up completely.

In the age of instant gratification, with emailing, texting, tweeting, blogging and facebooking it’s rather nice to see the Women of Letters bringing back a form of communication that has fallen a bit by the wayside. I found this book such an interesting read, I really enjoyed all of the topics. I didn’t love every letter, but I would have to say that I weren’t very many that I didn’t find something in. Even though the book is well over 400p, it reads like one much shorter given the letters are so brief and you’re turning pages far more quickly than you’d expect.

[Lorin Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sincerely is an anthology of letters written by cool Australian folk, and gathered from the Women of Letters live reading events, which raise money for Edgar’s Mission Farm Sanctuary.

While traditional letter writing encourages honesty, the public nature of this collection invites comedy along for the ride, and so we’re left with an often humorous, occasionally meaningful publication full of brief correspondence.

The highlights include comedy writer Lou Sanz’s letter “To The Photo I Wish Had Never Been Taken” and actor Toby Schmitz’s letter “To The Woman Who Changed My Life”.

Mothers are not allowed to view their children as anchors that have the power to drag them under. – Clementine Ford

[Pabs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable read, I especially enjoyed the contributions made by Eddie Sharp, Lou Sanz, Kamahl, Julian Burnside, Anthony Mullins, Samantha Lane and Kristina Olsson. Women of Letters offers readers a glimpse into the life and personalities of many household names in Australia, but more importantly, a collection of honest, funny, poignant and heartwarming stories. You're bound to find at least a few which really resonate with you. I hope there will be a third book.

[Liz Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been picking letters out from here at random and have enjoyed every last one. The 'letters' are written to be read aloud and you can imagine how well they would have gone over 'live'. A very enjoyable read.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant & sometimes funny insights from some clever people..

[Tamzin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exceptional

[Adriana Glackin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is there not to love about a book full of honest, fun, moving, thought-provoking letters. Grab a hold of this, and read it!

[Sarah Roskell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like a warm hug and a therapy session in one

[Kurdt · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars