Customer Reviews

From Me to You: The Reluctant Writer's Guide to Powerful, Personal Messages

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Finally: a how-to book that's fun to read. I won't lend anyone my copy of FROM ME TO YOU because I can't part with this book. It entertained, touched and helped me in more ways than any book I've ever read. Want to do something wonderful for yourself and the people you love? Read FROM ME TO YOU!

There are times when conversation cannot convey your deepest feelings. You can hide your true feelings when talking to someone you care about. Written words can be gifts of the heart and the way you present them can make all the difference. The fact that you take the time to find a concrete way of expressing your feelings is what matters!

You might be reluctant to send an e-mail or put pen to paper, however if you follow the steps in this book you will find it is easier than you think. The authors give examples of letters for every situation. These letters go beyond "polite" words and are more honest and genuine. They express goodwill or reveal deep feelings. They also communicate the importance and value of your relationship to the receiver.

"Often, just the fact that a person puts time, effort, thought or originality into something to delight or help us makes a message wonderful." pg. 9

The authors show how you use five basic elements to make a message powerful, intimate, satisfying and meaningful. It doesn't matte if you want to express your feelings, give advice, forgive, answer important questions, thank someone or share a favorite memory. These five elements should be included in your letter.

While this book might sound like it is an emotional roller coaster ride, there are quite a few really funny letters. I loved the story of a mother who writes down the sweet and funny things her children do. She intends to give these memories to her children. I know this was such a delight when my mother showed me her notes of what I said and did when I was very young. It truly will delight any child to know their parents cared enough to find the time to write down these memories. It also helps children remember important details of their lives.

Another idea I really thought was wonderful was a letter an Aunt sent her nephew about all the wonderful books she had read that she thought he would enjoy. Of course she could have just reviewed them, yet she chose to specifically recommend books that had given her enjoyment, knowledge and comfort.

Some of the letters helped bridge the distance between friends and family or helped to heal a hurt. These are real letters people wrote at a time in their lives when hurt, anger or misunderstanding left them feeling as if they were stuck on opposite sides of a tightly closed door.

"Maybe the blur of our lives has left us hungry for tangible ways to hold onto what is and was-even as we move toward what will be." pg. 150

So if you want to connect with the people you care most about, "From Me to You" will show you how to share your memories, thank people who have helped you in life, apologize to those you may have hurt, inspire friends and invite people to think of you with love and a smile.

~The Rebecca Review

You can read all kinds of self help and advice books without ever getting as much as you will from this one book. Written by a man and a woman who seem to have great understanding about people and their feelings, From Me To You is a joy to read.

It is filled with easy to understand suggestions that I've followed with amazing results. I shy away from saying affectionate things sometimes, but I think them to myself. Then along comes the book, From Me To You, and it helped me to write and send messages to the people who mean so much to me.

And look at me now , I'm even writing this review from my heart to you, someone I don't even know.

From Me To You is a book that made a wonderful difference in my life and I hope you'll get it and allow it to change your life too.

We all have the need and sometimes even the desire to write personal notes to others. Some people seem born with the kind of interpersonal intelligence to write sensitive, heartfelt, and honest letters while some of us can use some help. FROM ME TO YOU offers that help with instruction, suggestions for improving what we've written, and real examples. Each chapter will make you want to write to those you love.

This book gives you five basic elements for writing powerful messages that will resonate with those you address and will make the difference between a greeting card message and one that will be treasured for years. While a list can seem to sound like a formula that will come out trite or stiff, the actual results are personal and memorable. Each of them, especially adding a memory to your correspondence, makes your letter more personal an individual than any formula might imply.

Written with clarity and offering suggestions for letters that may be difficult or "sticky" to write (advice, cautions, sharing your worries), this book is one you can return to for guidance, inspiration, and ideas for writing those letters you know you want to send, but never seem to get around to writing because you're afraid you won't say it right. And yes, it makes a great gift.

What if you thought you only had one day to live? What would you say today? Who would you tell? How would you do that? What are you waiting for?

Those are the questions that get this book rolling. The questions asked and answered in FROM ME TO YOU speak to all of us. Chapter by chapter, this book presents eloquent stories about real people with real life issues who used the authors' suggestions to write messages for their loved ones. Some of these messages are funny. A few are sad. But every one of them touches on the themes all of us encounter like love, loss, memories worth preserving, and this rather simple truth: there is danger in waiting to express yourself in lasting messages for the people you love.

From Me To You: the reluctant writer's guide to powerful, personal messages is powerful and personal for all of us.

I couldn't put this book down. FROM ME TO YOU made me smile, get a little teary-eyed and then start writing to the people who matter most to me. It's a small book with a small price tag and a lot of heart. I'm buying it for everyone I love.

I only read FROM ME TO YOU because someone gave it to me as a gift and boy am I glad that she did. The book's stories are like little life lessons with great big punch lines. The point? It's amazingly easy to put the things that count in the long run down on paper. Don't put off making messages of love that your family and friends can hold onto forever and don't miss out on this book.

FROM ME TO YOU showed me I could do something that I never thought I could do. It showed me how other, everyday people wrote clear and heartfelt letters all about the things that are really important to share with family and friends like why some decisions were made, why some secrets were kept and what lessons in life were learned when mistakes were made. These are the hard to talk about things that, thanks to this book, I finally put in letters that have helped me and my loved ones. There are just five things that go in each letter and when you put them down in writing, things you thought you'd never be able to say make sense and turn into gifts for other people. But even if you never want to write your own letters, FROM ME TO YOU is a great book to read. The stories in it are so warm and real that it makes you feel good to know there are people in this world who have some of the same problems and happy times as you do. I hope everyone reads this book!

Like a lot of other people, I went through a bitter divorce. Awful words were said, terrible wounds on both sides. Then years of silence. But reading FROM ME TO YOU gave me ideas and courage. I did what this book suggests. Used the elements of a special message, wrote a short note to my ex. He wrote back. After all these years,peace and closure came to both of us. This is a very good book. The authors made it easy for me to do what I'd thought was impossible. If I could do it. Any one can. Enough said.

*From Me to You: The reluctant writer's guide to powerful, personal messages* will help you to eloquently communicate your innermost thoughts and feelings, creating memorable gifts that are as rewarding to give as to receive.

In *From Me to You* JacLynn Morris and Paul L. Fair, Ph.D., present examples of many kinds of personal messages, including
those of appreciation, apology, advice, inspiration, and comfort. The first requirement of a personal message is to write in your "true voice." Using vivid everyday language contributes sincerity and depth to a message.

Morris and Fair identify five basic elements to include in nearly every message, regardless of its purpose:

1. What got me thinking about you?
2. What are my positive feelings for you?
3. What makes you special to me?
4. What do I remember and treasure about our time together?
5. What do I want you to get from my message?

These elements, which need not be in any particular sequence, are unobtrusively identified in the many messages that serve as models in *From Me to You*. The authors also add several special elements and techniques that are helpful for especially difficult messages. One of the most interesting of these is Writing in the Margins, creating a separate column on your page in which you write your inner thoughts and feelings that might detract from your message's purpose.

Morris and Fair do not limit their messages to print -- or even to words. They discuss audio and videotape messages, collections of music, annotating children's creations, passing along stories with family recipes. There is no end to the number of ways to create lasting messages for the special people in your life.

Many of us are in the sad situation of having questions about our family members but having no living person who can answer them. Providing your loved ones with messages that communicate your feelings and your family stories will reduce the likelihood that this will happen to them.

As you celebrate special occasions, why not give powerful, personal messages to those you love? Such messages are lasting
gifts; they can be read again and again, and they might be read by a descendant even a century later.

*From Me to You* will make it easier for you to initiate communication that will connect you more deeply with those around
you. The example messages will show you how, and the accompanying stories of their success will contribute inspiration.