Briefe für Emily

by Camron Wright

Harry Whitney hat Alzheimer. Nach seinem Tod finden sich Briefe, die er an seine kleine Enkelin Emily geschrieben hat. Harry erzählt darin von den Herausforderungen des Lebens, von der Liebe und dem Verzeihen. Mit großem Erstaunen erkennt die Familie, dass Harry ihr ein Geschenk von unschätzbarem Wert gemacht hat.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Inspirational, Family

Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Camron Wright was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has a master’s degree in Writing and Public Relations from Westminster College.

He has owned several successful retail stores in addition to working with his wife in the fashion industry, designing for the McCall Pattern Company in New York.

Camron began writing to get out of attending MBA school at the time, and it proved the better decision. His first book, Letters for Emily, was a Readers Choice Award winner, as well as a selection of the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild. Letters for Emily has been published in North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Korea, the Netherlands, and China.

His next book, The Rent Collector, won Best Novel of the Year from the Whitney Awards and was a nominee for the prestigious International DUBLIN Literary Award. The Orphan Keeper won Book of the Year, Gold accolades in Multicultural Fiction from Foreword Reviews, and was winner of Best General Fiction from the Whitney Awards. His newest book, In Times of Rain and War releases in early 2021.

Camron lives with his wife, Alicyn, just south of Salt Lake City at the base of the Wasatch Mountains. He is the proud father of four children, all girls but three.

Reviews

[La Crosse County Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally published September 2009

Letters for Emily by Cameron Wright is a novel that pulled on my heart strings.

As the plot developed, I was in tears as I came to understand the life of Harry, a gentle grandfather stricken with Alzheimer's disease. Even with the challenges of the disease, Harry lived the end of his life by sharing his values of hopes, dreams, reality, and choice.

The main part of the novel was about the legacy that Harry wanted to leave to his children and grandchildren. Through poignant letters addressed to Emily, Harry wrote of enduring truths. One of my favorite letters included Harry as he wrote about "times of pure joy."

"Watch for them. Remember them. Try to create them if you can. No matter what, cherish them."

The story was also interlaced with the not so understanding relatives who added to Harry's loneliness and to his frustration with loss of memory.

My favorite novel about Alzheimer's disease is Letters for Emily. I highly recommend this novel.

See also:

Other novels that I have enjoyed about Alzheimer's disease are:

Still Alice by Lisa Genova, currently a popular read
Away from Her by Alice Munro
The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Doc by Richard Graber

There currently exists a growing theory that reading fiction increases the qualities of empathy and compassion in the reader. I believe that reading Letters for Emily is an excellent example of this theory.

My experience while reading this novel made me more aware of the helplessness and frustration of Harry's life, as compounded by Alzheimer's disease. And I also learned to respect the wisdom and clever ways Harry could still help his family mend strained relationships.

Find these titles within our catalog.

[Book Concierge · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 *

From the book jacket: Harry Whitney is dying. And in the process, he’s losing his mind. Afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease, he knows his “good” time is dwindling. Wishing to be remembered as more than an ailing old man, Harry realizes the greatest gift he can pass on is the wisdom of his years… And so he compiles a book of his poems for his favorite granddaughter, Emily, in the hope that his words might somehow heal the tenuous relationships in a family that is falling apart.

My reactions
I thought it was emotionally manipulative and predictable. The characters were out of central casting, and some of the events made little sense to me. Why write only to Emily (he has two other grandchildren), but provide three copies of the book?

But then, why leave such a complicated puzzle for a seven-year-old child to figure out? It seemed that he was intent on controlling his children and grandchildren, on “pulling the strings,” even from the grave. The cleverness of the clues / riddles left in the poems also is inconsistent with Alzheimer’s … unless he had penned all this years in advance.

Of course, Harry is NOT suffering from Alzheimer’s, as his daughter-in-law Laura finds out, but rather from the side-effects of suddenly stopping the anti-depressant medication he has taken for years. Why not just give him that diagnosis and go from there? Why bother with the Alzheimer’s misdiagnosis? Is it because Alzheimer’s books sell, while “depression” books do not?. Anyway, this just irritated me further.

I will say that some of the advice Harry leaves is poignant and resonated with me. I’d have less problem with the book if the letters were straightforwardly given, rather than requiring all these riddles to be completed to access them.

If it had not been a book-club read I would have abandoned it early on. Oh, well. At least it was a fast read; I finished it in within 24 hours.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars, a cute story!

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Wednesday letters, I remembered that a friend had given me Letters for Emily, also by Camron Steve Wright. So, I dug it off my shelves and read it this weekend. It was a poignant read for me. I lived next door to the "real" Harry Wright when I was growing up (he did live on Lincoln Street in Midvale, and "Old Man Ross" did live across the street from him!). My father was the Wrights home teacher for years. Harry Wright was a dignified, gentle, warm man--as I remember him. Of course, I wasn't around when Harry got older since I had left home by then. I do remember my Dad talking about Harry's "condition" occasionally when he would return back from visiting with them (his wife did not die when the kids were little). And Dad visited sometimes 3-4 times a week (I was clueless!).

I am a little dismayed that Camron choses to use swear words in his writing since he is an LDS writer. Be he is not necessarily writing to an LDS audience, I guess. At least he stops with swear words!

The letters and the clues in this book were fascintating--very clever, both for "Harry Whitney" and Camron! And, I did figure out early on that the letters were not really just for Emily. I did enjoy reading the real Harry's poems at the back of the book--they sound like him!

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.

It was my first by Cameron and I loved it.

Emily and her mom visit Grandpa Harry every Friday. Early on in the book Grandpa Harry dies and once that happens they find this book he left for Emily (and Bob and Michelle). This book is full of poems / riddles / puzzles to be solved and once solved leave to life lesson letters. Although Emily is small the adults, Bob and Laura along with Michelle and Greg solve the puzzles and read the letters.

So much more happens but I want you to read it and enjoy it.

Great great read.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book on a recommendation and I am so glad I did!! What a great message/s there are in this book! I will recommend for sure

[Darla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yet another unoriginal, tear jerky, melodramatic story by yet another moderately talented LDS author. More reason not to read books by my fellow saints. I starve for originality and story/ character dimension every time. Very frustrating. There were some good points, I loved learning about the father, Harry. If the story had stayed on he & his wife, maybe it would have been better. And don't send me any hate mail. I am entitled to my opinion.

[Summer Denny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet quick read 💖💖

[Kerri · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a sweet idea, and then it was overload. Saccharine, cloying, sticky sweet writing that was too much for me. By the end I was yelling at the book out loud, I had had too much. The characters were meh. The passwords were so easy and so "obvious"; come on, they never tried a password to have it fail? They never thought, "well, it could be this, or this, OR this?" Nope, because the writer knew what it was so the characters knew what it was without having to guess too much or have any doubts about their answers. It was all nice and neat and simple sweet.

But it has a great message about family, love, living your best life, tralala. I know there are people who love this book, but it just didn't sit right with me. I'm too cynical and jaded I guess.

It's clean writing, no swearing that I remember, no sex, drugs, abuse, etc.

[Leica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Take my rating with a grain of salt because this isn't the kind of book I would normally pick up since I know it's not a genre I enjoy. For context, I recently reread Tuesday's with Morrie and found it a lot more boring than when I read it ten years ago... my tastes are just different. *shrug*
While it did have some interesting set ups, I felt let down by the predictability and then the rushed ending. Don't get me wrong, I wanted Laura and Bob to get back together from the start, but it felt kind of forced and over the top for me. I'm all about well developed story arcs and rich character development and IMO this type of book's energy centers more around little nuggets of wisdom than it's actual story.

[Linda Delisle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very heartwarming book about a grandfather (Harry) who writes letters to his 7 year old granddaughter, about life, and the wisdom that he has learned as he ages. He is developing Alzheimer’s and knows his time is passing quickly.
He leaves her a book of poems, but within the poems are clues and riddles that lead to an even bigger discovery, of beautiful letters.
The Grandfather’s legacy reaches everyone, including those that read this book.
“If I could just a poet be,
I wouldn’t have to roam
To find the precious things of life,
They’re safe within my home”

It makes me wonder if I shouldn’t be leaving letters to my Grandchildren too?

[Stef · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book.
Had me in tears at the end. Not the tipe of boook i reed a lot but would definitely recommend it to anyone.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read several other books by this author and liked them. This was his first novel and it shows. I like the idea of this as a tribute to the author's grandfather. Everything else feels contrived and unbelievable. I don't like any of the characters, except maybe Emily, who doesn't talk as well as the seven year olds I've known. I also don't know that the author understands mental illness. Depression is real and powerful, but in this book it is the excuse for everything? I don't think so. The writing seems amateurish and unsuccessfully emotionally manipulative. At the same time, it's a little readable. I wanted to know the answers to the poem mysteries. The idea of the book is interesting. I just wish everything was written better. At the same time, I am impressed by anyone who has the persistence to get their work published.

[Maria Regina Paiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the start, I knew that this book was going to be filled with beautiful (and, of course, sappy) words of wisdom and love. After all, it's about a grandfather diagnosed with Alzheimer's who decides to write parting letters to his granddaughter, Emily. What I did not expect was for it to be so engaging. It has several twists that kept my interest going, and the messages in the letters were intimate, relatable, and inspiring. Harry, the grandfather, gave little Emily the gifts of a beautiful love story, a wealth of family history, and lessons about compassion and love that are a joy to read.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this book certainly was the change I was looking for after Anna Karenina. I read the entire book in one day of just picking it up now and then as a break from something else I was doing. It's quick, light and easy, which leads me to a question I want to ask.

Do you review books you'd class as literature and this lighter kind of novel in the same way? I always struggle with that and would like to hear some of your opinions on it. It seems almost unfair to use the same criteria for a book like this one as I would for Willa Cather or Jane Austen.

If I compared "Letters For Emily" to serious literary novels, I'd have to say it's a tad cheesy. The characters don't develop much and neither does the plot. It's not really memorable in any way. But, if I compare it to other books of this type it's not bad. It's an ok story and not too badly written. I read it quickly at a time when I needed a light read, so for me it accomplished it's purpose, or at least my purpose for it.

So. I have this struggle every time I read a book like this. I can't say it's very good, but I don't know if it's fair to dismiss it as fluff. There are books I would dismiss as fluff, but they'd have to be, well, fluffier than this one. And maybe what I say about it doesn't matter anyway since I'm not making a judgment on whether books are good or bad. This blog contains "thoughts on books I'm reading", so maybe I don't have to worry about being fair. I don't know. I just don't want someone who would love this book to skip it because of what they read here. Some of my favorite books got terrible reviews on other sites but fortunately I read the book before I read those reviews.

I'm getting tired of hearing myself talk about this so I'm stopping now. I do want to hear what others have to say though. Do you have one standard for all novels, or do you critique them within their specific genres?

[Beth Given · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for books about letters (or even better -- written in letters), so I picked this up. And to my surprise, this turned out to be much better than I anticipated. Judging from the cover (I know, the cliche says I'm not supposed to, but I totally do), I thought this would be a little hokey and poorly written. What I found instead was a readable, clever story. I found myself rooting for Laura and Bob's rocky relationship and appreciating Harry for his efforts in communicating with his family after his death. And the puzzles (hidden passwords in poems to access Harry's letters to his granddaughter, Emily) were fun.

Now, don't get me wrong -- this is certainly not great literature or anything. There's not a lot of character depth and all of the problems are a little too neatly solved to be terribly realistic. But reading Letters for Emily turned out to be good, clean entertainment, and sometimes that's exactly the kind of "good read" I need.

[Launna · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I didn't like about the book was that the couple was separated and struggling through the whole book. I did like the riddles and advice. Some of the advice from the grandpa was really good. My favorite was one of the old mule who fell into an abandoned well. The farmer decided he was as good as dead and started to bury him. The mule was confused and concerned about what was happening. He decided though to shake the dirt off his back and stomp it into the ground. He kept doing this and in time, the well was filled and he walked exhausted back to his stall in the barn. He says "..in life, there will be people who will throw dirt on you. If you shake it off and don't let it build up, like that old mule, you'll be able to rise above those dark situations that will occur in your life." Good advice.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first book that was written by Camron Wright and although for the most part it held my attention, it pales to his future books The Orphan Keeper and The Rent Collector. Letters for Emily was about an old man who had Alzheimer's Disease. "Wishing to be remembered as more than an ailing old man, Harry realizes the greatest gift he can pass on is the wisdom of his years, and so he compiles a book of his poems for his granddaughter, Emily, in the hope that his words might somehow heal the tenuous relationships in a family that is falling apart". Hidden within each poem are clues that lead to the opening of a letter. Although Harry's words of wisdom were heartfelt, I found the book to be extremely contrived and sappy. In my opinion, read his other books first.

[Traci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book begins with what could be a depressing story-line. The main character is dying, with Alzheimer's disease. But the story takes an interesting turn when he leaves a book of poems and connected letters for his granddaughter, Emily. These are life messages that connect with both Emily and the adults in her life. Beautifully written and a joy to read. When I find something this hope-filled I can't help but recommend it. Our choices today are so negative, generally, and this is quite refreshing.

Works for men & women, and I'll even recommend it for my own children as they enter middle school. Wisdom in it's most basic form.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one had a good story line and enjoyable to read, but could have been written a lot better. I have quite a lot of gripes with the cheesy, unrealistic dialogue. My one other gripe is that, being one myself, I could se how glaringly 'mormon' this writer is even before I read he attended BYU. That would be fine if this were intended to be an LDS fiction, but as it was not, that bugs me. On the positive side, it was squeaky clean, and as I mentioned before, enjoyable to read. Oh, and quick. Very quick.

[Tressa (Wishful Endings) · Rating 5 out of 5]

An old man, Harry, is dying and in his last few years writes letters to Emily, his grand-daughter who is seven when he passes away. They had been great friends. Emily's mother and father are currently separated. When the family finds the letters they find that Harry was trying to express himself not only to Emily, but to his son and daughter as well.

I loved this book and highly recommend it!

[Alli Elggren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this sweet little book in one day at Newport Beach a few summers ago. Initially I thought it might be too sappy, but I really enjoyed the letters from a grandpa to his granddaughter he doesn't know well. His letters are clever, teach life lessons and give clues about a mystery that runs through the story. Touching and insightful....a fun "beach read."

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet story about a grandfather's legacy to his family through the letters he left behind. I enjoyed the clues hidden in the letters and found it a clever device to move the story along.

This book made me want to write letters to everyone I left, of course I haven't gotten around to it quite yet.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An old man struggling with losing his mind writes letters to his granddaughter, Emily. Much more complicated than it seems as he hides clues in his poetry and sets up a treasure hunt. Humor and wisdom. Loved it.

[Cassie Shepherd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recommend this book despite the three star rating. I am just a cry baby and teared up through the entire book. For me, it is one of those bitter/sweet books you love, but have a hard time getting through.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very thought provoking book. I liked the back story, I loved the stories from the grandpa and life lessons. I also appreciated the ending. It was one of those books that taught many lessons but one you could also sit back and enjoy without thinking too deep if you wanted.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opens your eyes to depression and how it can destroy relationships. Touching tidbits of advice nestled in the grandfather's stories.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emily's grandfather, Harry has Alzheimer's. He knows he is dying and his time is limited so he composes a book of poems for her. Of course he hopes to help Emily live the best life she can by learning from his experiences. However, there's more than meets the eye in Harry's poems. There are clues to letters and life treasures for Emily.

I usually love Camron Wright's books, The Rent Collector and The Orphan Keeper were wonderful. However, I must say that I found this one to be very contrived, too many things didn't ring as plausible. I can't really explain more or I would have to put spoilers.

Never the less, I wanted to read to find out what happened. I basically liked most of the characters. And the story while contrived kept me interested.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book and am just realizing it was an abridged version, so I’m not sure what I missed and am wondering if I’d listened to an unabridged version of that would have negatively impacted my raring. I knew nothing about this book and was pleasantly surprised by the storyline. Although predictable and perhaps overly dramatic and cheesy, I did like getting to know Harry through his poems and letters. A fun read to pass the time that also was chock-full if little life lessons.

[Juliana Kulak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this story!