The Wednesday Letters [Hardcover]

Jason F. Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 2007

Jack and Laurel have been married for 39 years. They've lived a good life and appear to have had the perfect marriage. With his wife cradled in his arms, and before Jack takes his last breath, he scribbles his last "Wednesday Letter." When their adult children arrive to arrange the funeral, they discover boxes and boxes full of love letters that their father wrote to their mother each week on Wednesday. As they begin to open and read the letters, the children uncover the shocking truth about the past. In addition, each one must deal with the present-day challenges. Matthew has a troubled marriage, Samantha is a single mother, and Malcolm is the black sheep of the family who has returned home after a mysterious two-year absence. The Wednesday Letters has a powerful message about forgiveness and quietly beckons for readers to start writing their own "Wednesday Letters."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the wake of his bestselling Christmas Jars comes a sweetly crafted story from Wright, a Virginia businessman. Jack and Laurel Cooper are two hardworking, loving Christian pillars of the community who die in each other's arms one night in the bed-and-breakfast that they own and operate. The event calls their three grown children home for the funeral, including their youngest son, a fugitive from the law who must face an outstanding warrant for his arrest and confront his one true love, now engaged to another man. As events unfold around the funeral, the three children discover a treasure trove of family history in the form of Wednesday letters-notes that Jack wrote to his wife every single week of their married lives. As they read, the children brush across the fabric of a devoted marriage that survived a devastating event kept secret all these years. It's a lovely story: heartening, wholesome, humorous, suspenseful and redemptive. It resonates with the true meaning of family and the life-healing power of forgiveness all wrapped up in a satisfying ending. (Oct.)
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Review

Written for adults, dealing with complex situations, November 18, 2008
By Elizabeth

This book surprised me, as I expected something sweet and simple. At its core is a difficult situation, one requiring repentance and forgiveness in a marriage. Much as we would like it to be, this is not unusual in life--circumstances might not be the same, but the need for understanding, forgiving, rebuilding is nearly universal in one way or another. I thought this book depicted that beautifully. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Shadow Mountain; 1 edition (September 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590388127
• ISBN-13: 978-1590388129
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (184 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #194,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jason Wright is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USAToday bestselling author. He is also a political commentator and the co-founder of http://www.politicalderby.com, a popular website for political junkies.

Articles by Jason have appeared in over 50 newspapers and magazines across the United States including The Washington Times, The Chicago Tribune, and Forbes. He is the author of The James Miracle (2004); Christmas Jars (2005); The Wednesday Letters (2007); Recovering Charles (2008), Christmas Jars Reunion (2009); Penny's Christmas Jar Miracle (2009); The Cross Gardener (2010); The Seventeen Second Miracle (2010); and The Wedding Letters (2011).

Jason is also a popular speaker who speaks on the origin of the Christmas Jar movement, the value of service, the lost art of letter writing and many other topics. (Click here to learn more about booking Jason for your event.)

Jason has been seen on CNN, Fox News, C-SPAN, and on local television affiliates around the country.

Jason is from Charlottesville, Virginia, but has also lived in Germany, Illinois, Brazil, Oregon and Utah. In 2007, while researching Virginia's Shenandoah Valley for his novel The Wednesday Letters, Jason fell so in love with the area that he moved his family westward from northern Virginia into the heart of the Valley.

Jason is married to Kodi Erekson Wright. They have two girls, two boys, and are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of three books that must not be missed, September 14, 2007

By 

Sandra Denton (Pollock Pines, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wednesday Letters (Hardcover)

Do yourself a favor: skip the celeb-gossip books that are bombarding the amazon top ten list, and go straight for The Wednesday Letters by Jason Wright, A Beautiful Bucket of Bones by M. Luci, and Mother Theresa: Come Be My Light. If you refuse your voyeur instincts, you will turn to these novels and find the rewarding feelings of love and hope that all three so graciously inspire.

The Wednesday Letters is a classic American story filled with dreams and the struggles that surround them. A happily married couple, the Coopers, die in each others arms after a life of hard work, faith and love. Their children return for their funeral and find letters that not only show them the secrets of the lives they thought they knew, but guide them to the point of self-discovery, acceptance, and peace. It is a heartwarming story that will satisfy anyone who has ever had a dream and has had to find a way to move along when that dream dies.

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fabulous book!, September 12, 2007

By 

Danielle Funk "Funkmom" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wednesday Letters (Hardcover)

What a great book. It made me laugh and cry. The relationship within the family was so realistic and believable to anyone that has siblings. I loved the local landmarks and the pride of living in a small town. The ending was so shocking and unexpected I had to read the last two chapters over again to really believe it. Sit down and be prepared to enjoy a really fabulous book!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "I will fail. But I pray you will never give up on me, though I will surely fail again.", July 25, 2008

By 

Long Ago "Far Away" (in the middle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wednesday Letters (Hardcover)

The first chapter started the story off with real power. It evokes a strong emotional response. And the latter half of the story also had some very poignant and emotional scenes; the type that put a tear in the eye and a lump in the throat. The story in its entirety was overall quite good, and the quality and emotion of the second half of the story helped make up for some not-so-subtle weaknesses.

After the powerful first chapter, as the Cooper siblings were introduced into the story, the story seemed to struggle to find its direction. Most obvious - and even irritating - to me was the dialogue between the siblings early on in the story. It seemed artificial and ingenuine. Not to mention they seemed to lack adequate development, with maybe the exception of Malcolm. Also, there were parts of the story that were very much over-written, as if the author was trying too hard to illustrate an environment, a character or a circumstance. Unfortunately, this caused some sections to just be hokey, goofy, and even a bit pathetic.

However, I thought in the second half the author seemed to find his stride and ended the book strongly. In the final assessment this was a good story, but it suffers 3 stars for a weak front half, except the first chapter.