28 Years Between Kisses: The Love Letters That Reclaimed a Lost Romance [Paperback]

Thomas DeLia (Author), Linda DeLia (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 20, 2006

In 2001 Tom DeLia vowed to find Linda, the first and only love of his life, whom he had not seen for nearly 3 decades. Doggedly pursuing Internet clues, Tom determined finally to claim Linda as his own or exorcise the grip she had clamped on his heart for 28 years. Their literate, honest, funny, romantic and sometimes erotic letters and emails fly between Colorado and Pennsylvania for five months, bringing the now middle-aged lovers to life for the reader, revealing their past, their present, and their hopes and fears with great immediacy. Anyone who wishes for another chance at love or believes that aging or cancer or financial circumstance or distance banishes the possibility of love will savor this true story told in these compelling love letters in the lovers' own words.

Product Details

• Paperback: 508 pages
• Publisher: Ferinds Vale Press (October 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0978762703
• ISBN-13: 978-0978762704
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #684,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational!, December 23, 2006

By 

C. Luckett (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 28 Years Between Kisses: The Love Letters That Reclaimed a Lost Romance (Paperback)

Simply put, I loved this story. I found my eyes welling up with tears many times... tears of joy, tears of sorrow, and sometimes even tears of laughter! I saw myself especially in Linda so many times. I think that's the best part of the book: how easy it is to relate to the very real and raw emotions that stem from this incredible, almost ethereal reunion.

There are many twists and turns to this story, which just proved to me that, yet again, truth is stranger (and more wonderful!) than fiction. I'm grateful to your brave hearts for sharing your beautiful story with the world. Yours is certainly one not to lock away.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent writing with sparks from the first pages!, November 25, 2006

By 

John (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 28 Years Between Kisses: The Love Letters That Reclaimed a Lost Romance (Paperback)

I completed your fantastic book. I loved it!! The two of you clearly have mastered the ability to express your raw emotions. The sparks are so genuine. Your exceptional writing stirs feelings of joy, empathy, love, jealousy, excitement, and curiosity.

Here's my NY Post review: "Love defined." "Intense!" "Gripping!" "Moving beyond words" " A love story unlike any other." Your style is fun, exciting, sincere, and downright passionate. Tom's intuition and insights are right on. As a male, I related to many of his letters and feelings about steel armor and difficulty at times expressing the right words.

I'm hopeful to see both of you on Oprah. Please let me know when it will be airing! This is a great real life experience. You both have such courage to print your most personal thoughts and dreams. What a wonderful gift to share with others.

Above all, I got chills several times reading your emails/letters. It made me feel so special to know a person that has found such unconditional love - the purest form. I am beyond happy for you both.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Letter from Eva Berck, author of Yonder the Bridge, to authors, November 24, 2006

By 

Tom and Linda DeLia (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 28 Years Between Kisses: The Love Letters That Reclaimed a Lost Romance (Paperback)

The book arrived with that beautiful, super slender young woman on the cover. My husband opened it (I was in the middle of another book) and I heard him say after a few moments: "They REALLY CAN write!" That aroused my curiosity and I picked it up after he left and . . . well, I was caught. I could not put it down until I read the answer to that first letter, and then the answer to the answer . . . and so it went.

After 20 pages, more or less, unlooked for, and out of the way past, Goethe's words in his "Tasso" Drama came to mind:
"Und wenn der Mensch in seiner Qual verstummt,
gab mir ein Gott zu sagen was ich leide."
Translation:
"When man grows mute within the turmoil of his soul,
a god gave me the voice to tell my anguish."

Yes, you really can write, and write beautifully, both of you. That's the amazing thing about it. With all the expressed anguish and turmoil, there is harmony in those expressions. You are on the same "wavelength" at all times. Even your sense of humor clicks.

May I quote Goethe one more time: As he wrote to his own rather hopeless (while married) Charlotte VonStein:
"You must have been in quite another life
my loving sister or beloved wife."

You see, your fate is not unique.

I shall treasure it. And saying that I wish you well is understating it. I wish you well with all my heart! You are two brave, beautiful--and talented--people.