Amy Weinland Daughters, a woman who hadn’t seen her Facebook friend in 30 years, decided to reconnect with her through handwritten letters. This experience sparked a desire within her to write to all 580 of her friends on Facebook. She believes that this “social experiment” brought out the best in her and other people. Daughters has handwritten and mailed over 620 birthday cards this year alone, averaging about 17 cards per week. It has been a costly endeavor in terms of stationery, stamps, and effort, but she is determined to have sent a card to all 980 of her friends by the end of December. When she writes these cards, she doesn’t simply sign her name; she includes a long and detailed message. If space runs out, she even writes additional pages to include with the card.
Many people have questioned Daughters about why she has made such a large commitment to keeping in touch with her friends when it would be easier to use social media. Daughters acknowledges that they are right, but she firmly believes that sending a handwritten note or letter establishes a meaningful and priceless connection with another person. In fact, Daughters was inspired by her experience to write a book about it titled “Dear Dana: That Time I Went Crazy and Wrote All 580 of my Facebook Friends a Handwritten Letter,” which was published last year. The initial letter that sparked this journey was sent to a woman named Dana Rivera, a friend from her time working as camp counselors in 1986. Although they had lost touch, Daughters reached out to Rivera when she learned that her youngest child, Parker, had cancer. Rivera responded to the message, and Daughters began sending her letters each week, sharing updates about her life and offering support. Writing these letters became therapeutic for Daughters, and even after Parker’s passing, she continued writing to Dana. They eventually became pen pals, and their bond deepened as they shared their grief and found comfort in each other. Daughters then had an idea to write to all of her Facebook friends, as she pondered the untapped potential in these connections. She collected everyone’s names and wrote individual letters to each of them, reintroducing herself, reminiscing about the past, and discussing what she had discovered from their Facebook pages. Daughters considered this endeavor a “social experiment.” Although she only had about 30% of the addresses, she was resourceful in obtaining the rest. She would often reach out to their workplaces or message them on Facebook in order to obtain their addresses. The response rate was about 70%. Most people were overwhelmed by the effort Daughters put into the letters and expressed gratitude for the thoughtfulness. Holding something handwritten from someone they had forgotten about was a magical experience for them. Many recipients have even said that they will cherish these letters for the rest of their lives. Daughters hopes that her letter-writing project will inspire others to pick up a pen and write to someone, emphasizing that showing care and thoughtfulness allows us to fulfill our duty to one another.
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