![]() And during our interview, Gordon joked that he was a little jealous that I got to read the letters before he did.īut a dying wish has a momentum all its own. Much of which is about Gordon's strengths as a dad. And now, very gingerly, the wall is being dismantled.Ī months ago Rebecca sent her Dad a copy of one of the letters from her 24th birthday. It was a plan that neither Rebecca nor Gordon ever consented to. Along with instructions that made discussing that wall very difficult. This surely wasn't Elizabeth's intention, but when she wrote those letter, she left behind the bricks for a wall that kept her husband and her daughter apart, at least when the subject came to Elizabeth. And she thinks it would've been better if she had shared the letters with her father in real time, even if that went against her mother's wishes. Recently, Rebecca has started to grasp the hardships the letters imposed on her dad. Other kids might have found this all a little too heavy, Rebecca found it inspiring. In college when her friends were out drinking, she stayed in and studied. ![]() In one letter she asks her daughter, "Are you contemplating a dissertation? Interviewing with scientific laboratories or NASA? Traveling to excited places?" Rebecca pushed herself to meet those expectations. Under that balance, you will be frustrated."Īnd her mother had high expectations. Quote, "You are not a uni-dimensional person. Urging Rebecca not to give up her career when she has children. Quote, "Most children benefit from the simulation of daycare," she writes. Everyone thought it was fashionable, but I laugh when I think of it."Ī lot of the letters are advice on how to live. A black fake fur suit with a pink top and the plastic ping pong earrings. Quote, "You would not believe what I wore. So when Rebecca turned 21, Elizabeth described a dress she owned when she was 21. Often she focuses on what was happening to her on the age Rebecca would be when she opened each letter. ![]() And she does so in the letters with a mix of pep talks, moral instruction, autobiography, and parental affection. Or just, "Love forever, Mommy."Įlizabeth told Gordon that she wanted to describe the world as she saw it, and as Rebecca would see it as a young woman. Each letter was about 2,000 typed words on thick white paper signed by hand, "You're the sweetest girl in the world. ![]()
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