The
heartwarming true story of the unlikely friendship between an American girl and
an African boy in Zimbabwe will delight your heart and give you hope. I could
not put this one down.
Caitlin
met her best friend through letters, when she was in seventh grade. Nobody
could have predicted that the friendship would last to this day. Back then, Caitlin
lived in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, while Martin Ganda and his family lived in
Mutare, Zimbabwe.
Everything
started with a school assignment in the year 1997. The students in Caitlin’s
classroom were asked to write a letter to a student residing in a different country.
Caitlin’s classmates picked students in European countries such as Italy,
France, England and Germany, but Caitlin’s attention got hooked on “Zimbabwe”, located
on the bottom line of the list of names on the blackboard.
What Caitlin did not know when they started
exchanging letters was that culture was not the only difference between them;
Martin and his family lived a life of deprivation.
The
name “Zimbabwe” intrigued Caitlin. She was aware that Zimbabwe was a country in
Africa, but other than that she knew nothing about it.
Caitlin
was curious to learn about Zimbabwe and was excited to write her first letter
to her pen-pal, who lived seven thousand miles away from her, on the opposite
side of the world. (Seven thousand miles is equivalent to eleven thousand
kilometers)
She searched for information about the
mysterious country. Caitlin found out that Zimbabwe had been liberated from the
United Kingdom in 1980. The national language was Shona, but most people could
speak English.
That
first letter was the beginning of a friendship that would lead to personal
growth, knowledge and new life experiences. Caitlin and Martin belonged to
different cultures, but their friendship was authentic They supported each
other through every setback, roadblock and stressful life situation.
The
chapters written by Caitlin alternate with those written by Martin, so we get
to understand their personal perspectives and views. Through their distinct
narratives we learn about their lives, hopes and challenges as they grow and
change over time.
The
suspense of their interactions builds up when we become aware of the extreme
poverty of Martin’s life situation and the fact that, initially, he conceals
the truth about his life to protect Caitlin. He may have feared that she would
reject him. He did not want to spoil their friendship. Sharing the reality of
his situation could have clouded her optimism; he did not want to disappoint
her.
While Caitlin went shopping every weekend and
fretted over shallow school drama she shared with Martin, Martin lived a
life of deprivation. Martin and his four siblings did not even have a mattress
to sleep on. They all slept under their parents’ bed, where they kept the pots
and pans during the day. The siblings shared one blanket.
After a
few letters the school that Martin attended could not provide the money to mail
his letters anymore, so to continue the letter exchange he would pay for the mail
fees himself… This was not easy considering that his family did not even have
enough food to eat on a regular basis. One day Caitlin sent him one American
dollar for him to see what it looked like... She would never have guessed that
that dollar would save Martin and his family from hunger. One American dollar helped to buy
food for two weeks for the whole family, and he was able to pay the postage for
his next letter to Caitlin…
The power of free education
Caitlin knew nothing about Martin’s precarious
living situation, but everything changed when Martin’s family could not afford
the school fees and he had to drop out of school. His father had lost his job
at a paper factory. Furthermore, Inflation was getting worse. The cost of
living was skyrocketing. Martin was forced to do odd jobs that were not even
enough to eke out a living. He did not want to reveal the truth, but, on the
other hand, Caitlin needed to receive his letters to be reassured that he was
well and that their friendship mattered to him.
Martin had
excelled as a student; his mother had high expectations, so dropping out of
school was catastrophic for them. They were heartbroken. He needed to finish
high school first, and then after high school he wanted to attend university.
That was his dream.
An
authentic friendship
Caitlin’s
friends soon lost interest in their European pen-pals, but Caitlin’s and
Martin’s friendship stayed strong. Martin became Caitlin’s best friend, and her
school peers made fun of her because they assumed that she had a romantic
interest in him. This was not the case. Caitlin felt he was like a sibling to
her. She expressed this clearly, but her peers constantly mocked her and
treated her with disdain. She could tell they were jealous of her friendship
with Martin.
It
was uplifting to read how Caitlin and her mother, Anne Neville, ended up
supporting Martin and his family. I do not want to spoil it, so I will not
share too much about their story. It
should be enough to mention that I will Always Write Back brought tears
of joy to my eyes on more than one occasion.
I think this book should be shared in every
school across the United States of America and the world. First of all, I Will Always Write Back
may awaken people to the importance of education and to not take education for
granted. Secondly, it will remind people everywhere that citizens in other
countries have lives, families, feelings, dreams. They are not the "enemy." It
makes no sense to cheer for a bully who dehumanizes people from other countries,
right?
I hope
teachers will read my blog post and consider using I will Always Write Back
for classroom conversations. Hopefully, students can take a break from playing video
games and read books like this one. The world needs more empathy and critical
thinking skills.
Martin has three brothers and one sister whose
name is Lois. Lois was also an excellent student and I liked that Martin had
faith in her and wanted Lois to continue her education. I do not know what
happened with Lois. I hope she is well. Girls face additional challenges in
Zimbabwe. In rural areas girls have to travel long distances to school and this
can be dangerous. There are various challenges that make everything harder for
girls.
I was impressed by how Anne Neville and
Caitlin persevered against all odds to help Martin. There was a situation that appeared to be
insurmountable, but eventually the outcome was positive…
It was
interesting to learn about Martin’s culture in Zimbabwe. For example, the
members of a family share the clothes they have. It is normal for them to do
so.
There
is a lot to process about the story. Do not get discouraged if the first
chapters make you angry or impatient. Keep reading because the book will
not disappoint you. There are many situations that may enrage you. That is
okay. Honesty is necessary to tell a story—any story. I kept thinking about it long
after I finished it, and I researched more about Zimbabwe. I still have lots of
questions in my head about the current situation in Zimbabwe, so I looked up
some information from a UNICEF site.
Coming of
age story
The whole
experience opened up Caitlin’s eyes to a reality that was totally unfamiliar to
her. I was impressed by how thoughtful she was when she was determined to help
Martin and his family in critical situations. Her kindness made a huge impact
on the life of Martin and his family.
Getting to know Martin and his family
transformed Caitlin in many positive ways, and I am thankful that Caitlin and
Martin decided to write down their experience and publish it in the form of a
book, to share it with the world. They did so with the help of Liz Welch, a
professional writer.
I came across I Will Always Write Back
at my local library and I fell in love with it as soon as I began reading it.
It is a precious gift to share with others, and I think it is very relevant
today. I highly recommend it.
I
will Always Write Back should be shared in schools. It can be included in reading programs and book clubs. It is a book that will interest people of all ages.
We must inspire students to make choices that align with empathy, respect and cooperation. Bullying and dehumanizing others lead to wars and destruction. Who wants a world consumed by wars and ecological destruction?
End-of-
year message
It has been a busy year for My Writing Life
blog. I hope you had fun visiting this site. I enjoy writing every post,
and I hope to continue doing so in 2026. It is not easy. It is a mission that
requires work and attention to detail. I do it with love. It is not perfect.
Please, understand that I do my best.
If you have read My Writing Life, I
have some questions. You do not need to answer these questions directly, but
you may want to reflect on them.
Has My Writing Life made you aware of
something important?
Has My
Writing Life invited you to reflect on something you’ve never considered before?
Has My Writing Life inspired you to
read a book you did not know about?
Has My
Writing Life inspired you to take action to make the world better in some
way?
If the answer to any of these questions is
“yes,” feel free to share the content of a post with people who may appreciate
it. Let’s create ripples of awareness, reflection and inspiration…
My Writing Life blog supports democratic principles,
the freedom to read books and stands up to hate. My Writing Life promotes a
love for reading books. Empathy, compassion, and sustainability are essential
to make the world a better place. The mission of My Writing Life aligns
with this idea.
I want to share something that happens
right now with this blog. Unfortunately, Google stopped indexing my blog posts
last August. This means that the blog posts I published over the last four
months will not appear in Google searches.
I contacted Google several times to no avail.
I persevere in my attempts to ensure that the blog posts continue to get
indexed, but Google ignores my requests. I see that Google has
other priorities, like paying for Donald Trump’s “ballroom”. I get it. The
content of My Writing Life blog does not align with the interests of the trump regime. However, I follow all the rules and there is
no reason for Google to stop indexing my posts. I don’t think it is fair to
make my posts invisible in Google searches.
Google is
one of the most powerful information gatekeepers in the world. By removing
information at the request of authoritarian governments, Google has
collaborated with authoritarian regimes in the past. You can learn more details
on this by reading this reporting here.
The months prior to the fateful 2024 Presidential election in America Google did not index my blog posts either. My Writing Life blog supports democratic principles and tried to educate the public on the need to prevent the trump regime from materializing, but Google refused to index the posts of My Writing Life: Awareness, Reflection, Inspiration during the months that preceded the presidential election as well. Why? I have no idea.
Google returned to
the same tactic in August 2025, but I have good news for you: I will not be
deterred by bullies and corporate greed. The plan is to continue choosing the
books I want to read, and I will write about them. Nobody else selects the books I include in My
Writing Life. I am unapologetic about my choices, and I will keep it this
way. If you like a blog post, share it. I need support to keep this blog visible.
What is
happening with Google? I do not know, but this article may offer some clues:
The corruption, terror and violence of the
trump regime are deeply disturbing to watch; raising awareness is important.
I encourage you to support the hard work of independent journalists, so feel free to subscribe to their channels and stay updated. I will share some of their reporting here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz3cdP1wbhk
Let’s work
to make 2026 better than 2025. Every voice matters.
Till
next year.
