...letter writing

Since we're now in the midst of Universal Letter Writing Week, I wanted to use this blog as a shout out to a fellow blogger, Joanne Anderson, and her uniquely personal blog, Love, Mum x

Love, Mum x is a blog compiled of real and unfiltered letters between a mother and daughter separated by countries. The blog begins with the first letters exchanged in 1990, when Joanne emigrated to Canada from England with her husband to begin a new life and adventure.

The hardest part of this experience was always going to be the large distance separating her from her family, but especially from her Mum, with whom she shared a special bond. 

They promised to write to each other everyday, and that promise was admirably kept. The result of which is literally hundreds of letters, spanning nine years.

The letters between them are humorous, conversational, emotional and, more than anything, REAL. They're filled with the anticipation of long anticipated visits to Canada and to England alike. And the longing that came afterwards. 

They used to say, "wouldn't it be wonderful if we had telephones where we could see each other?" not dreaming that years later this would become the norm. But if this had been a possibility, there would not be such an accumulation of paper memories in Joanne's possession now.

Joanne's mum passed to spirit in 1998, signalling a move back to England for Joanne, her husband and their two children by then. 

The sheer volume of the letters is what's prevented her from beginning before now. I happen to know Joanne's ambitions extend beyond this blog, and the letters aspire to being formatted in a book. Until that inevitable time, her story is available for all to read on her blog site, Love, Mum x and is updated regularly with the next instalments. 

I cannot recommend this blog enough!

Letter writing is a dying means of communication, but this blog is stunningly transparent in revealing the devotion between two people. I truly believe words have the greatest power. They can soothe, they can heal and they can bridge distances. This blog is evidence of that and more.

You'll find Love, Mum x linked here and throughout this blog. Make sure you follow and subscribe so you know when the next instalments are published. 

You can find Joanne on Facebook and Instagram, too. Follow her on both and take an extended trip down memory lane!

I've recently been using this lockdown to take up letter writing to vary my communication with friends we aren't currently able to be with. I highly recommend doing the same! Pick up a pen and some pretty paper and write. The response will make you're heart melt!

Thanks as always for reading!

Zuzu 🖋