Dearest Roshan,

Thank you for your extraordinary response. I cannot tell you how much your words mean to me. You renew and recharge my faith in this strange quest of mine, of sending words of unusual intimacy into the world, hoping they’ll find a home in a kindred heart. Thank you for receiving my offering of love and for reciprocating in kind.

I’m so glad my letter resonated with you, and that it can be something for you to hold and return to as needed. You can give me no greater gift or honor. And your letter came at exactly the right moment in my life as well. My agent and I are in the submission process for my memoir manuscript, meaning we are presently shopping it around to various publishers, to find our right fit. Yesterday, we received a rejection from an editor, politely declining to publish my memoir manuscript. She found my manner of storytelling, while “incredibly original, gorgeous, and poetic”, a bit difficult to follow. We feel though, my agent and I, that my storytelling is just fine. For us, to us, it makes sense and doesn’t need adjustment. All we need is to find another kindred heart, who happens to be a publisher, to join our merry band of cohorts, to help us share the work with the global audience. Your response and your letter reaffirmed my faith that I and my work have a place in the world.

“Your response tells me to keep writing, keep reaching out and keep connecting. To keep making eye-contact. Because to live without doing this feels needlessly and painfully empty.”

No words are truer, more perfect, or more fitting. Thank you, my darling friend. You are sublime. I cannot wait to read your book. I cannot wait to meet you in person, to envelop you in a huge hug.

So much love,

Reema