In 2010 a reoccurring dream about Taylor Swift sends Rush Whitacre down the path of trying to answer her question from his dream, "Color, Which Color". Along the way in recording his history Rush finds solace in his writing while both his parents nearly die, his education crumbles beneath him, and his only home disappears before his eyes as he is ever pushed in the direction of moving to New York to find his place in the universe. There are 365 letters and 365 poems. In Rush's words, "You may find yourself in my pages, my poems, and sometimes wrapped up inside my arms crying with me as I did upon my work countless times."

Taylor Phillips was working as a barista in NYC the day the twin towers came crashing down. Seeing her city in shambles, coated in ash, and American lives lost, she enlisted to fight the War on Terror. Daniella Melo, a Rhode Island American History teacher, challenges her class to write letters to soldiers fighting overseas. With one name left and a student short, Daniella takes it upon herself to write letters to Private Taylor Phillips stationed in Afghanistan. Over the next two years, the women exchange letters, sharing stories of their daily lives: Daniella trailing after her rambunctious daughter, Jackie, and dealing with overeager seniors planning prom while Taylor trudges through sand and dirt, driving her humvee in cold deserts. Their friendship continues to grow until it becomes something so much more than either women expect.

During that time he saw his wife only twice on furlough, but still stayed in close contact with her through their intimate and dedicated exchange of letters.".

We all have moments we wish we could relive. We'd give anything to skid down the toboggan hills of our youth, to breathe in the smell of our children as babies, or to spend just one more minute with someone we've lost. Dear Photograph provides a way to link these memories from the past to the present, overlapping them to see how the daydreams of our memories collide with our current realities. The idea is simple: hold up a photograph from the past in front of the place where it was originally taken, take a second photograph, and add a sentence of dedication about what the photograph means to you. The results, however, are astounding, which is why millions have flocked to dearphotograph.com and thousands have submitted their own Dear Photographs. This stunning visual compilation includes more than 140 never-before-seen Dear Photographs, as well as a space for you to attach your own cherished photo. By turns nostalgic, charming, and poignant, Dear Photograph evokes childhood memories, laments difficult losses, and, above all, celebrates the universal nature of love.

A unique, inside look at American childhood through the conversations between Highlights magazine and its young readers and a call to grown-ups to make time to actively listen to the children in their lives. Every year, tens of thousands of children write to Highlights magazine, sharing their hopes and dreams, worries and concerns, as if they were writing to a trusted friend. From the beginning, the editors at Highlights have answered every child individually. Longtime editor in chief Christine French Cully has curated a collection of this remarkable correspondence (letters, emails, drawings, and poems) in Dear Highlights--revealing an intimate and inspiring 75-year conversation between America’s children and its leading children’s magazine. From the timeless, everyday concerns of friendship, family, and school, to the deeper issues of identity, sexuality, divorce, and grief, here is a unique time capsule of American childhood in the voices--and the very handwriting--of children themselves. The book captures a child's-eye view of some of the most important events of the past 75 years: the COVID-19 pandemic, 9/11, the Challenger Disaster, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Cully’s insightful narrative becomes a call to action for adults to lean in and listen to children, to make sure our kids know that they matter and what they think matters, and to assure them that they have the power to become people who change the world. By turns funny, heartbreaking, moving, and enlightening, Dear Highlights will cause readers to reflect, to listen, and to embrace the children in their lives. From the foreword by nationally syndicated columnist Amy Dickinson: “In times of great stress or trouble, Mr. Rogers advised children: ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ That’s exactly what children writing to ‘Dear Highlights’ find when they put pen to paper: helpers whose open-minded trust and kindness surely has made our world a better place.”

"Poor, Dear Margaret Kirby" by means of Kathleen Thompson Norris is a compelling tale that delves into the complexities of human relationships and societal expectancies. The story unfolds round Margaret Kirby; a female whose lifestyles becomes intertwined with the lives of those round her. As Margaret navigates the challenges of love, sacrifice, and personal boom, the radical explores the impact of societal norms on person picks. Set towards the backdrop of the early twentieth century, the narrative weaves collectively issue of family dynamics, societal expectations, and the pursuit of personal achievement. Margaret's journey is marked with the aid of resilience and self-discovery as she confronts the constraints imposed by way of societal norms and seeks a direction genuine to her personal aspirations. Kathleen Thompson Norris crafts a nuanced and emotionally resonant story that captures the zeitgeist of the generation at the same time as addressing timeless subject matters. Through Margaret's reviews, the novel displays on the iconic human quest for identification, reason, and the pursuit of a meaningful existence inside the face of societal pressures.