Thanks For a Lovely Year

It hadn’t occurred to me until that moment that my book would be playing a bit role in people’s Christmas mornings across America or–more meaningfully–that people would actually be excited to receive it. As so often this year–as I trotted around the country hawking my book, as I read (mostly positive) reviews, as I received well-wishes from friends and family–I found myself flush with gratitude.

Writing is not a solo endeavor. It is an act of communication, and isn’t whole or complete until someone reads the written words. The meaning exists in trust between reader and writer, and both contribute to that meaning. Once a sentence is put to paper, it begins a life that will only be complete when someone else reads it and it becomes transmuted in her mind. The writer never has the final word; the reader does. The text then goes on t …