A bundle of letters, a dying man, hope for his family's future and his legacy. Estranged from his pregnant wife and found to be with terminal cancer; a lost man finds peace in writing out his hopes dreams, advice, memories, and thoughts out to his unborn children. His wife doesn't know that her husband is ill, she doesn't even know that he found out she was pregnant. So when she gets the first letter months after his passing she is flabbergasted. She didn't even know he was sick, there is no chance for a reconciliation or for him to meet his kids. In reality, he saved her from pity and from forcing her to forgive him because of his circumstances, he wanted her to remember him as he was.

The remaining letters, poems, and songs won't be given to her or their kids until their tenth birthday and they have no idea how much the letters will impact the rest of their lives. Each letter contains some nuggets of wisdom, humor, and memories. It's clear that their father put his heart and soul into the 200 letters he wrote in less than a year. Even though his clock was ticking faster and faster, he doesn't speed up or rush his letters. They are full of tenderness and nostalgia. He's trying to impart what he can on kids he'll never meet. From appreciating the seasons, traveling, falling in love, turning 18, appreciating music, and respecting nature; they are all written from a rugged romantic rancher extracting what beauty he can out a bleak situation. Even though this reads as non-fiction, the letters and the story are in fact, fiction, but don't let detract from the message and the lessons. A wonderful book that readers won't soon forget about. ( )

There is something achingly personable about opening The Legacy Letters to the page titled Early Evening. It's really difficult to explain. At first, my eye was drawn to the page and then I found my hand gently caressing it

I often think of sunset as a tranquil time and in this book, it's an appropriate time for an intimate ceremony of final rest.

I've reread December 23rd multiple times and my heart aches when I come to the words, dying far away from his family and friends.

This man who is dying chose to give these letters to his wife and the children that he would never live to know.

These precious letters contain much value!

These words faithfully guide us and speak to the essence of a life lived with small things in natural beauty.

In a book about the size of a hand, Carew Papritz brilliantly makes us aware of the silent nature of this message which is a simplification to a gratifying, soulful life. And while I loved the warnings about the compromises of adulthood, and the morse code of semi-finished thoughts, I think my favorite passage was there is no fear in dying just the fear of not loving and living deeply enough.

The Legacy Letters was gifted from the author.

The Legacy Letters, I treasure. ( )

I wanted to believe this book is a true story, and it read like it was. It's instead an amazing work of fiction. I mean amazing. The language in this book is like music, which makes sense because the author is musical as well. It's lyrically written, beautiful language, much of it unusual and personal. It's the story of a couple that separates over something minor (isn't that the usual way?). The wife soon learns she's pregnant with twins but is angry and doesn't tell the husband. He learns he is dying and chooses not to tell his wife for fear of harming her pregnancy, which he learns about from a friend. He only has months to live, so he goes to a remote cabin belonging to his family in the mountains. There he writes letters to his children and wife while enjoying his last days and nature. The letters are remarkable. The rest of the story you must read for yourself. A wonderful and cerebral book. Kudos to the author for making us want to believe this story is true. ( )

I received a free copy through Goodreads.
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Wow. What can I say? The letters were inspirational and yet filled with sadness at the same time. There are a lot of words of wisdom given in the letters, but it is tinged with sadness because you know that the letters were written by the dying father (known only as Papa in this narrative) who would never get to meet or know his children.

There were lots of moments of silliness and fun, and also wisdom from years of experience and a touch of common sense (people take note because I certainly did!). There was a good balance of both spectrum. You get to feel and relive each moment mentioned and at the same time ache to grasp more of what seems to be a little out of reach (like time for Papa to do more for his family and to pass on more life lessons through his letters).

This book is certainly different from all the books that I have read. It was a refreshing read and was in a sense a wake up call of sorts telling me to slow down in life, to enjoy every moment and savour the little things (like the movement of music, the smell of the morning air and the caress of a loved one).

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. It's a relatively easy read and every letter is worth a thorough read through. I hope to pick up the full collection of the legacy letters to read sometime in the future. ( )

This was a book that I found hard to get into, obviously, since it took me over a year to read it. It arrived shortly after I lost my own father and I did not find it comforting. The lack of storyline and the terribly sad situation this person and family found themselves in made it difficult to plow through. I came back to it several weeks ago and started again and while still profoundly sad in many ways, there are words of wisdom here, gems and joys that can be plucked from many of the letters. The chapters on travel, marriage and especially money, "The Everything and Nothing of Money", were wonderful and made the reading experience worthwhile. ( )