Love Letters: What Matters Most

Read Love Letters: What Matters Most submissions from 2018

Read Love Letters: What Matters Most submissions from 2019

Please note: The writings submitted reflect the viewpoints and perspectives of the authors. Content was not changed out of respect for their work. 

Honoring Your Wishes, an Iowa City Hospice program, hosted Love Letters: What Matters Most in collaboration with Little Village and the UNESCO City of Literature in 2018. Thanks to the community’s positive response of this project, we offered this writing opportunity again in 2019.

In the book The Four Things that Matter Most: A Book about Living, Dr. Ira Byock invites us all to incorporate the themes of love, forgiveness, and gratitude into our daily lives. What do we want to tell the people we love? What do we appreciate about the people in our lives? How can words help us heal? Given that we never know what tomorrow may bring, how can we honor and strengthen the relationships in our lives each day?

Writing Opportunity

Inspired by the themes of love, forgiveness and gratitude, writers were asked to select one of the following:

1. Write a letter to an individual who has taught you something about these themes.
2. Write a reflection/story about a person who taught you to love, forgive, or express gratitude.
3. Write about how incorporating these themes allowed you to be able to say goodbye to a significant person in your life.