In 2018, local author Dianne Young published a book titled, ‘Dear Me: The Widow Letters’, which featured letters written by widows to their newly-widowed selves. Women from across North America contributed to this project, and, after receiving much appreciation from widows and others from this project, Young decided to expand the conversation and reach out to mothers that had lost a child to create ‘Dear Me: The Mother Letters’.
This book includes letters from 18 mothers who have lost a child due to various circumstances and at a variety of ages. “I have friends who have experienced the death of a child, so it seemed a natural next step,” Young said.
Someone does not have to had lost a child to be moved by this book, which contains letters full of not only grief and anguish, but also hope, love and resilience.
“The letters are heartbreaking. I was originally going to publish this book last spring, but with the onslaught of the pandemic and self-isolation, I had to put it aside for a year for the sake of my own mental health.”
To learn more about ‘Dear Me: The Mother Letters’, or to purchase a copy, visit dianneyoung.ca, or find a copy at McNally Robinson in Saskatoon. Following this book, Young plans to publish two more books in the ‘Dear Me’ series, with ‘The Widower Letters’, followed by ‘The Father Letters’.
A virtual book launch for ‘Dear Me: The Mother Letters’ will be taking place on Tuesday, April 13th at 7pm via Facebook Live thanks to funding from The Writers Union of Canada through their National Public Readings Program. More information can be found at facebook.com/dearmemothers.
Currently, taking a break from more serious writing and editing, Young noted that she is working on a series of children’s ebooks called ‘Victims of Vowel Play’. “They are retellings of folk tales, each one without using a different vowel. For instance, the first one is Snow White Plus the Seven Short Guys: The Un”A”ded Truth. They were a lot of fun to write,” Young explained. These are expected to be available on Kindle by April.
