Letters In Cardboard Boxes

SPOILER ALERT!A powerful, emotional roller coaster. Letters in Cardboard Boxes tells the story of Parker and Dotty, granddaughter and grandmother, as they go through Dotty's illness and the changes it brings to their livesParker is not prepared for the loss of the grandmother she knew. Dotty tried to prepare Parker for what was happening to her but was not able to find the words. Together they go through the changes. Dotty forgets her life and Parker. Parker does not want to let the Dotty she knew go. She fights every step of the way, feeling guilt for what she could have done to prevent it. Parker has to learn that she has no control over her Grandmother's illness.I felt such a strong connection to Parker. I know people that are like the people in her life. I loved Dotty. She tried to give Parker the security and love that Parker's parents did not. Parker and Dotty's relationship was based on love, not always easy, but what each needed. Parker has regrets but I could not fault her. She did what she could when her grandmother was failing. When Parker's past comes out, I understood the why. Now that Parker needs someone, she has no one from her past. The woman who was the one friend she had leaves on bad terms because Parker pointed out the truth and she did not like it. Her boyfriend only sees her as a convenience. He is not there for her to lean on. She does not know how to ask. Her parents were in their own little world and could see nothing beyond themselves.Fortunately Parker meets new people as her grandmother gets worse. Dotty was mentoring a teen, Tanya. She is a lot like Parker but a friendship grows between them where they learn to rely on each other, even with the age difference. Tanya knew the recent past of Dotty. Jerry lives next door and provides a window to Dotty's past where he remained while the world moved on. Phila the philosopher states the platitudes we say when we do not know what to say. He is the calmness in contrast to Parker's anger, regret, fear, and loneliness. Each came into her life when she needed their strengths to get her through the hopeless and helplessness she felt dealing with her grandmother and her own lives falling apart.Keep a box of tissue handy. Each of us have gone through this or will go through it. Letters in Cardboard Boxes is a book that will resonate and stay with me throughout my life. It is a book tragedy and hope. The tragedy is of losing the past, of not making time for the past and the people in our pasts but the hope is there that we can get through it, that we can make changes that will keep the stories and personalities alive long after they are gone. This story will stay will me long after I have closed the cover.

The story begins with Parker leading a somewhat mundane life, with a boyfriend who isn't treating her all that well. She then receives quite the shock when she discovers a letter in her mailbox from a friend of her grandmother who says she is ill and will likely not survive the night. That she should donate her clothing and start mentoring a girl named Tanya, on Wednesdays.It's this letter that starts things off, and ultimately, really turns things around for Parker. Parker, even at 29 has a lot of growing up to do. She still harbors a lot of anger at her parents for abandoning her to go on their world adventures, and she's basically stuck in a rut. She's in a relationship with a guy who doesn't treat her well, but is comfortable. Stuck in a job that she doesn't get much recognition for. Stuck in a bland apartment because she doesn't know what else to do.Her grandmother getting sick changes all of that. It forces Parker to reevaluate her entire life. Throughout the book, we witness Parker grow into herself. Though she has ups and downs, she becomes a stronger person. She starts to live, to be young, and enjoy her life.The character development in this is amazing. As Parker went through her transformation, I found myself running the gamut of feelings. From being angry at her parents for abandoning her, being pissed off that Jimmy treats her so badly, to sad (in tears even!) when she realizes that she has to accept what is happening to her grandma, whether she likes it or not, to being happy when she starts to grow into the person that was inside her all along and finally take some of those adventures she's read so much about about.The concept of the letters in this book is probably what drew me to it the most. I'm a sentimental packrat in that way. I keep old letters, cards, ticket stubs, (and I'm keeping them, at least for right now, in cardboard boxes. That is until I can organize them into some sort of scrapbook). People might think that letters are just words, but they are so much more than that. They're memories of time gone by, thoughts, and feelings, and dreams. The author sums this up perfectly. "They created another world for us to live in, one that didn't have the same rules. ..We led two lives, one at the fence, and one in our dreams with the letters."There are also more heartwrenching points in the novel, one of them summed up perfectly with this one line: "I'm not really a fan of pie" It may seem ordinary, or strange even, but once you've been with the characters for a while and you read that line, you really start to understand what's happening.In addition to the plot, the structure of the book is really well thought out, and I appreciated that a lot. It's set up in five sections, akin to the progression through the five stages of grief. And, you'll notice, or at least I did, that certain characters certainly play and fulfill their roles in those stages as well. There were some minor errors that caught my eye, but overall the structure was excellent.I see a lot of myself in Parker, which makes me identify strongly with her. I hope someday that I can become as strong a person as she did throughout the course of this book. Plus, just as a fun little fact, my best friend's name is Tanya, and the relationship that develops between Tanya and Parker in this story really made me think of my friendship with the Tanya in my life. It also made me realize that I should appreciate life as much as I can, and make new memories as much as I can because I don't want to miss out later on. This novel has so many wonderful qualities to it I can't even begin to do this book justice. It makes you appreciate the time you have with your loved ones, and reminds you to ask questions and learn as much as you can about them. It also makes you nostalgic, and hopeful, that we can all have that cardboard box full of memories to look back on someday.*I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*