Letters for Emily

Written by Camron Wright

Narrated by Jeffrey DeMunn

You are so young. You may wonder what an old man like me could teach? I wonder as well. I certainly don't claim to know all the answers. I'm barely figuring out the questions....Life has a strange way of repeating itself and I want my experience to help you. I want to make a difference. My hope is that you'll consider my words and remember my heart.
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, the jumbled mix of experiences and emotions that add up to a life. 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.
But Harry's poems contain much more than meets the eye....As Emily and her family discover, intricate messages are hidden in them, clues and riddles which lead to an extraordinary cache of letters, and even a promise of hidden gold. Are they the ramblings of a man losing touch with reality? Or has Harry given them a gift more valuable than any of them could have guessed? As Harry's secrets are uncovered one by one, his family learns about romance, compassion, and hope -- and together they set out to search for something priceless, a shining prize to treasure forever. They may grow closer in spirit or be torn apart by greed...but their lives will be undeniably altered by Harry's words in his letters for Emily.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jan 1, 2002
• ISBN: 9780743549660

Camron Wright

Camron Wright is a graduate of Brigham Young University. Letters for Emily, his first novel, was inspired by the writings of his late grandfather. He lives with his family near Salt Lake City. Visit his website at www.lettersforemily.com.

Reviews for Letters for Emily

[bookconcierge · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

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 reactionsI 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.

[kr_patterson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars but I rounded to 5. And that was mainly because it was better than I thought it was going to be. Starting out, it felt like it was going to be predictable and overly sentimental. While it was predictable, it was well done. It moved me to emotion, which I didn't expect. And the fact that it's based off a real story makes it even better.

[chickey1981 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

At first, I thought that this book would just be a trite rewriting of "The Notebook" except the letters would be to a granddaughter not to the loved one. But soon it turns into a puzzle book where complex emotions get worked out with the remaining living relatives. Emily, actually was not the main character in this novel. Her parents, who had a crumbling marriage, took front stage. I was glad in the end that Bob wasn't as horrible a person as the entire book made him out to be. The same I couldn't say for Greg- was there Anything redeeming about that man?!Anyway, it was a fast, pleasurable read!

[kallmon75 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An outstanding book, a must read!Heartfelt and touching

[nyiper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Such a sweet story---tenderly told. And you really cannot guess what's coming next as the story progresses---at least I couldn't! I was interested to learn in the website for the author that he started out by self-publishing until the book finally got "noticed." Who knows what makes a book survive to be officially published? I guess we LibraryThing readers are helping.

[soleenusa_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved! this book.All starts with a book written by a grandpa to his granddaughter with little bits of wisdom he wants her to remember. Because of that book we get a glimpse of the (complicated) relationships between fathers and sons, brother and sisters, husbands and wives,parents and theirs kids, etc.It is really worth reading but do so with a box of Kleenex by your side.