Title: Letters Written In White
Author: Kathryn Perez
Genre: Magical Realism
Book Blitz: November 30 - December 2
Release Date: November 30, 2015
Hosted by: S.B.B. Promotions
I’m dead.
I’m cold and alone and I’m dead. There’s no air in my lungs. My chest is as cold and hollow as a cave on a snow-capped mountain side. My heart no longer beats there. Frigid winds whistle through my ribs and the sadness inside me weeps like my favorite tree.
Days ago, I met with death face to face. The mirror, our meeting place. My two darkened green eyes stared deeply into hers. I tilted my head to the side. She did too.
“It’s time,” I whispered.
“It’s time,” she whispered.
And with that I turned away from her, the woman in the mirror who knew all of my secrets and all of my pain. I walked away from her and yet we’d never been closer than we were in that moment. The inner struggle was over. No more arguing with the woman in the mirror. No more arguing with myself. The choice was made. She was the victor. Or was I?
That was the day Riah Winter died.
I honestly have no clue where to even start. I feel like I still need more time to process my thoughts on Letters Written In White. I've come to the conclusion that Kathryn's books are almost too real for me. I connect with her writing on such a personal level, and I'm never ready for the connection either. I feel things in her words that no other book has made me feel, and maybe it is because I feel like at times Kathryn is writing about me. The similarities between some of her characters and myself is scary at times.
I remember reading one of Kathryn's posts that she wrote this book when she was going through a really rough time in her life. To be honest, I felt it all. I felt what Kathryn was going through, I felt her pain, her sorrow. I felt EVERYTHING. Her pain etched through her beautiful heartbreaking words, and held me prisoner.
It's weird, as a reader most of us read to escape reality. Though reading Kathryn's books, its almost as if reality smacks me right in my face. I can't escape it. I cant stop reading it. It's as if I'm addicted to reading her words, even though I know it will bring out the emotions I try very hard to keep hidden inside. But I could never help myself, Kathryn's words do something to me. They make me feel like I'm not alone. Though her books are fiction, they are VERY REAL.
Riah's story was probably the hardest story for me for me to get through. The realness of it all. The sadness. The heartache. At times it was unbearable. I found myself having to put the book down on multiple occasions and just sit there crying. Wondering if I was crying for Riah, or crying for myself. I'm still not sure, but what I do know is that this story, Riah's story, will stay with me forever. Riah is apart of every single one of us. She is our pain, our insecurity. She is our depression that seeps so deep into our soul we don't know how to ever come up from it. If anything, this book will open eyes to any person who thinks they're alone. Anyone who thinks they are the only one facing depression and or other mental illness, this book assures you you aren't the only one. Riah fell into the hole of depression, and wasn't able to fight her way out. But Riah's story will forever live on.
Kathryn, I cant tell if I love your books or wish I haven't stumbled across them. And while that almost seems not nice, I only say it because it brings out things in me that I try to hard to keep hidden. Brings out emotions in me that I thought I didn't have in me. Your books call me out of my own facade. Your books make me want to help myself in so many ways. Kathryn, you have a special talent, and its imperative for you to know that your words help people. Make them want to change for the better. Make them want to do something so that they aren't in the same position as Riah. Your words, they do that for me. So while they kill me, they heal me all at the same time.
Thank you for sharing Riah's story with me.
<3 JMAC
I honestly have no clue where to even start. I feel like I still need more time to process my thoughts on Letters Written In White. I've come to the conclusion that Kathryn's books are almost too real for me. I connect with her writing on such a personal level, and I'm never ready for the connection either. I feel things in her words that no other book has made me feel, and maybe it is because I feel like at times Kathryn is writing about me. The similarities between some of her characters and myself is scary at times.
I remember reading one of Kathryn's posts that she wrote this book when she was going through a really rough time in her life. To be honest, I felt it all. I felt what Kathryn was going through, I felt her pain, her sorrow. I felt EVERYTHING. Her pain etched through her beautiful heartbreaking words, and held me prisoner.
It's weird, as a reader most of us read to escape reality. Though reading Kathryn's books, its almost as if reality smacks me right in my face. I can't escape it. I cant stop reading it. It's as if I'm addicted to reading her words, even though I know it will bring out the emotions I try very hard to keep hidden inside. But I could never help myself, Kathryn's words do something to me. They make me feel like I'm not alone. Though her books are fiction, they are VERY REAL.
Riah's story was probably the hardest story for me for me to get through. The realness of it all. The sadness. The heartache. At times it was unbearable. I found myself having to put the book down on multiple occasions and just sit there crying. Wondering if I was crying for Riah, or crying for myself. I'm still not sure, but what I do know is that this story, Riah's story, will stay with me forever. Riah is apart of every single one of us. She is our pain, our insecurity. She is our depression that seeps so deep into our soul we don't know how to ever come up from it. If anything, this book will open eyes to any person who thinks they're alone. Anyone who thinks they are the only one facing depression and or other mental illness, this book assures you you aren't the only one. Riah fell into the hole of depression, and wasn't able to fight her way out. But Riah's story will forever live on.
Kathryn, I cant tell if I love your books or wish I haven't stumbled across them. And while that almost seems not nice, I only say it because it brings out things in me that I try to hard to keep hidden. Brings out emotions in me that I thought I didn't have in me. Your books call me out of my own facade. Your books make me want to help myself in so many ways. Kathryn, you have a special talent, and its imperative for you to know that your words help people. Make them want to change for the better. Make them want to do something so that they aren't in the same position as Riah. Your words, they do that for me. So while they kill me, they heal me all at the same time.
Thank you for sharing Riah's story with me.
<3 JMAC
Kathryn lives in her small East Texas hometown with her family. She 's a music infused writer and self-proclaimed book junkie. When she isn't listening to music, writing or reading you'll probably find her watching her favorite sport, UFC.
Kathryn is also an anti-bullying advocate and avid supporter of mental-illness and suicide awareness.
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