As a novelist working on a story told through letters, I came to appreciate that in this age of text messages and email we’ve forgotten the importance of letters. But not until I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 did I understand that letters are gifts with the power to heal. Knowing someone took the time and care to hand-write a note was encouraging and uplifting. After coming home from radiation, I would read the cards lined up on my kitchen counter and know I wasn’t alone. Today I’m cancer-free, and I’m convinced those special letters helped speed my recovery. From my experiences, I started a charity called Girls Love Mail. The goal of Girls Love Mail is to encourage newly diagnosed breast cancer patients with the gift of a hand-written letter. It’s so simple. We don’t keep emails, but letters are sacred mementos that we save in decorative boxes. For me, starting Girls Love Mail was one of those AHA moments. And two and a half years into my story of survival, I still pull out my cards and know that I’m not alone.