Thursday, March 24, 2022

BLOG TOUR: Letter to a Stranger: Essays to the Ones Who Haunt Us by Colleen Kinder

 I'm pretty excited to be a part of the Blog Tour for Letter to a Stranger: Essays to the Ones Who Haunt Us by Colleen Kinder. I received a free copy for honest review from the publisher. Thanks so much to Algonquin Books and Colleen Kinder for letting me be a part of this tour!


Title: Letter to a Stranger: Essays to the Ones Who Haunt Us
Author: Colleen Kinder
Published by: Algonquin Books
Released: March 22, 2022
Source: Review Copy Provided by Publisher
Goodreads      Amazon
 
Synopsis: Sixty-five extraordinary writers grapple with this mystery: How can an ephemeral encounter with a stranger leave such an eternal mark? 
When Colleen Kinder put out a call for authors to write a letter to a stranger about an unforgettable encounter, she opened  the floodgates. The responses—intimate and addictive, all written in the second person—began pouring in. These short, insightful essays by a  remarkable cast of writers, including Elizabeth Kolbert, Pico Iyer, Lauren Groff, Gregory Pardlo, Faith Adiele, Maggie Shipstead, Lia Purpura, Kiki Petrosino, and Jamil Jan Kochai, are organized around such themes as Gratitude, Wonder, and Farewell and guide us both across the globe and through the mysteries of human connection. Addressed to a first responder after a storm, a gambler encountered on jury duty, a waiter in  Istanbul, a taxi driver in Paris, a roomful of travelers watching reality TV in La Paz, and dozens of others, the pieces are replete with observations about how to live and what we seek, and how a stranger’s loaded glance, shared smile, or question posed can alter the course of our lives. 
Moving and unforgettable, Letter to a Stranger is an irresistible read for the literary traveler and the perfect gift for anyone who is haunted by a person they met once and will remember forever. (Synopsis from Goodreads)
 
My Thoughts: I don't tend to read a lot of non-fiction, so it's always something different when I pick on up. I really liked the sound and idea of Letter to a Stranger. It just had such a comforting concept. The thought of how a stranger can impact your life, how you'll remember that stranger.
This book isn't one that I would read straight through. I would pick it up and read a letter here and there. I really liked doing it that way.
I enjoyed a lot of these letters. They really made me think of how little things can have such a big impact. They also showed how important one person can be. There may be a lot of people in this world, but we'll never know just what we mean to someone else.
If you're looking for something to make you feel good, I'd definitely recommend giving this one a read. It was a good experience.


Colleen Kinder is an essayist and editor whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, National Geographic Traveler, Salon.com, and The Best American Travel Writing. She has taught writing at Yale University, the Chautauqua Institution, and Semester at Sea. A Fulbright Scholar, Kinder received her MFA at the University of Iowa and is the author of Delaying the Real World and the cofounder of the online magazine Off Assignment (OffAssignment.com), where some of the pieces in this anthology originated. Her website is colleenkinder.com.


Thanks so much for checking out my Blog Tour Stop for Letter to a Stranger: Essays to the Ones Who Haunt Us by Colleen Kinder. Thank you to Algonquin Books and Colleen Kinder for letting me be a part of the tour. If you're looking for something to make you feel good, I'd definitely recommend giving this a read.

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