By Becky Holland
I recently finished reading a little book called 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff.
At just over 100 pages, it isn’t much bigger than a pamphlet. There are no car chases. No murders. No shocking plot twists. In fact, the entire book is made up of letters.
Letters.
In an age of text messages, Facebook posts, emails, and instant communication, the idea seems almost quaint.
Yet somehow this little book reached across decades and grabbed me by the heart.
The story begins in 1949 when a writer in New York sends a letter to a used bookstore in London looking for books she can’t find in America. What follows is a correspondence that lasts nearly twenty years.
Twenty years.
The amazing thing is that Helene Hanff and Frank Doel never sat across a table from one another. They never shared a meal. They never took a selfie together. They never exchanged text messages or liked each other’s posts.
They simply wrote.
And over time, those letters became friendship.
As I read, I found myself thinking about the relationships that shape our lives.
Some begin with a shared cup of coffee.
Some begin in church.
Some begin in a workplace.
Some begin through words.
The older I get, the more I realize that conversation matters more to me than appearances ever could.
A good conversation can change your day.
A meaningful conversation can change your life.
When someone listens, remembers, asks questions, and genuinely cares about what you have to say, something special happens. A connection is formed.
Helene and Frank discovered that through letters.
Many of us discover it through phone calls, emails, texts, social media messages, or conversations that continue year after year.
The friendship in 84, Charing Cross Road reminded me that relationships don’t have to be flashy to be meaningful. Most are built one conversation at a time.
One letter.
One story.
One question.
One answer.
As a journalist, I spend my days asking questions and listening to stories. As a daughter, I treasure the conversations I still have with my 91-year-old mother. As a friend, I value the people who check in, share a laugh, recommend a book, or simply listen.
Perhaps that is why this little book touched me so deeply.
It reminded me that the greatest connections are rarely built in a single moment.
They are built over time.
One conversation at a time.
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