By Evan Wechman

Local Mendham author Carol Van Den Hende fondly remembers growing up in Montclair and visiting the local library with her parents where she fell in love with books. She learned to write by reading great authors and quickly discovered the connection that can be built between the author and reader.

This coming Veterans Day, on November 11th, Van Den Hende’s new book, “Dear Orchid,” will be released.  She chose this special day since her book which is a wonderful mixture of mainly letters, some essays, and some short fiction pays homage to combat veterans.

For instance, in the upcoming book, Van Den Hende shares letters she wrote to Sergeant Brian Anderson whose memoir she had previously read.  In his memoir, Anderson shares how his Humvee was blown up by an IED, resulting in both his legs being amputated.  However, Anderson still moves forward after the war and lives a meaningful and happy life.

This caused Van Den Hende to reach out to him by letter to thank him for his very moving memoir. This resulted in the two corresponding and a letter to him being published in “Dear Orchid.”

“I did write a letter to Brian and gave him a letter,” Van Den Hende said. “He actually has his copy of that letter in a special Memento box in his home for things that he really treasures. The other letters (in the book) are not ones that I have sent. They are ones I have written to remember and pay homage to special people and places and moments in time there.”

A few such letters pay homage to her grandparents who immigrated to the United States. “These letters really kind of honor their background,” Van Den Hende said. “One letter thanks my grandfather for the literary influence he’s had in my life because he worked for a publishing house. He had a basement full of bookshelves full of books, and it was like Christmas time when I would go down there, he would say to me, ‘take as many and whatever you want.’ And it was for somebody who loves storytelling, who loves books, has always loved libraries and writing stories, it was like a dream come true. There’s that very personal memory.”

Such personal and intimate writing has resulted in much praise from both book reviewers and fellow authors. However, the Mendham author does not take full credit for the originality and touching nature of her letters.

She credits actress and author Mary-Louise Parker for her unconventional memoir “Dear Mr. You,” published in 2016 for sparking this idea. Van Den Hende was reading the book at approximately the same time she began corresponding with Sergeant Brian Anderson, and the book moved her deeply.

“Mary Louise Parker took this epistolary format, this letter format, and wrote a memoir,” Van Den Hende said. “She wrote letters to men who were of significance in her life. And that format, I think, created this letter format. One thing I’ve realized is it creates a lot of intimacy between the author and the reader. Yes, it’s written in the you or the second person point of view and therefore feels incredibly intimate. And it was quite moving to hear her storytelling through that letter format.”

Though the letters are specific and personal to Van Den Hende, readers and critics alike who have read advanced copies of her new work are finding that it resonates with them as well, even though the experiences are unique to the author.

” What they (readers) can relate to is the feelings of resilience, perseverance and love of family, hope and optimism and all the whole range of human emotions that are in here, they can relate to them. So, although the stories are so personal and

specific, they still feel universal and very relatable,” Van Den Hende said.

For the author, bonding with readers through her personal letters is essential.  She believes in the power of connections between humans and wants people to remember that we all have more in common than we do differences. 

“I feel my mission in life is to inspire hope and empathy for people and planet. And I think that comes through, you know, this tenderness, the care for my best friend, I write a letter to my best friend from childhood who is no longer with us anymore. So, this is very real about life, that there’s great joys and hopes and then there’s sadness and disappointment and loss as well, and that range is reflected here.”

More information can be found at www.carolvandenhende.com