On June 22, 2002, my mother's voice was stilled. But editing these letters allowed me to go back and spend time with her again. They will let you spend time with her, too...only it will be a much more personal "her" than you knew from her columns, her books, speeches, television appearances or interviews. Even for people who knew her, I suspect these letters will offer a deeper, more nuanced understanding of who she was. I loved putting this collection together. And strange as it may sound, reading them all, together, was an entirely different experience than seeing them one at a time. A LIFE IN LETTERS – even for me – is like watching two lives unfolding.