One thing you may not know about me is that I once co-authored a book published by an independent Australian publisher.
That book, Worlds Apart, wasn’t a book I set out to write. It was a series of letters that I sent to a German friend I had never met. I came across her blog post about India while living alone in China, and took the chance to email her.
That one email turned into a series of exchanges that eventually became this book. I would go on to meet Dorothee years later in London. It remains our last meeting. I haven’t seen her since 2009.
But every now and then, I receive a handwritten postcard or note from her. I keep these notes tucked away. Safe among other notes, frozen moments of time that carry the whiff of space and distance.
There’s something magical about receiving something handwritten – they are echoes of someone’s handprints, a touch across time that you turn years later and smile at the memory of it.
Today, I will sit down and do something similar: write handwritten notes to the subscribers of the MyndReaders Book Box. These aren’t digitized. They aren’t photocopied. Each note is individual. It is not easy for an ADHDer to write these – repetition is the bane of our existence. But I know how precious this is.
We can record our digital conversations. Encrypt them. Send transcripts.
But nothing is as sensorial as a handwritten note. The ink that shakes a letter onto the page. Tumbled lines. A word scratched out because we have no delete or backspace here. You can see the writer’s thoughts unwind, unspool, and slowly unfold before you.
It’s a gift. Precious and ephemeral. The ink fades. But you remain.
If this idea of handwritten notes and shared stories resonates with you, maybe you’d like to be part of the next chapter. If you want to gift yourself a MyndReaders Book Subscription, please go ahead and try it out here: books.myndstories.com
Or gift it to someone – make their day.
This month, I have chosen a book that made me cry. Good tears. Of belonging and friendship.
Aich. This is what our world should be made of.
