Customer Reviews

From Newbury With Love: Letters of Friendship Across the Iron Curtain

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This collection of letters can be put down and taken up at any point without losing the thread. In that sense it is almost suitable for bathroom reading. However, the human rights context in which the letters are exchanged make this a special kind of book. When Marina's father is serving seven years in the gulag, her mother Lera discovers a humble post card in her mailbox: "Lera stood paralyzed in front of her door; it seemed a miracle that someone living in England could write to her daughter, that this postcard could have penetrated her isolation. It was like seeing an angel." (pages xx-xxi) An exchange of some 15 years results, as letters, books, chocolates and clothing cross the Iron Curtain, despite constant KGB surveillance.

The book is published with the help of Amnesty International, through which, as the book's end matter explains, "there are many ways you can protect individuals at risk or violations of their human rights--including prisoners of conscience . . . One simple but effective way to take action, at the heart of Amnesty International's work, is writing letters. Letters do make a difference: whether they bring hope and support to prisoners of conscience and their families, or put pressure on governments and countries to change their policies. As Lera said: `It is difficult to explain how greatly our life changed after that first post card. I never felt lonely any more...Harold and Olive's letters changed my life--they gave me hope.'

Great gift for a friend. I enjoyed the glimpse into these lives and was reminded how a small act of kindness can touch a person forever.