Legacy of Letters

Most every family has a batch of personal letters tucked away in a drawer or a cedar chest, perhaps from someone who was away at war, visiting a foreign land, professing love, apologizing for a major wrong or just pouring out the deepest feelings. But it's rare to find a collection that tells a universal story. Legacy of Letters reveals in depth the ever-changing dynamics of a family circle. At its center is a young Southern girl who took the "normal" path to her vision of a fulfilled, contented maturity, only to arrive feeling empty and restless, and compelled to explore the puzzling questions about life and purpose. The true story is told through a series of actual letters and diary entries written between 1932 and 1977 and preserved by the author and members of her family. These treasured documents tell of ordinary facets of life but together make up an extraordinary portrait. This book is the first in a series that carries the story to the present day. In today's age of instantaneous communication, we take for granted just how much of our history is preserved by the written word. Legacy of Letters captures a snapshot of real American history and passes it down through time to current and future generations.

Born the first of four children in rural Mississippi in 1932, Patsy Gilbert grew up to marry a Naval officer and give birth to four children. After the marriage ended in 1977, Pat became a nanny, caring for the children of prominent families. An aspiring writer all her life, she began Legacy of Letters after rediscovering a treasure trove of letters saved by family members throughout the years. Now a grandmother of nine, Pat lives in Winter Park, Florida, and has written three additional books that continue the family saga.