The Most Difficult Letter
While many of us write letters with ease, the condolence letter is difficult for most and I need not expound the reasons for this. I myself keep a supply of sympathy cards to aide me in the task but after reading the article which I have linked below I may rely less on the card and more on the pen for future condolence.
The following quote is from a condolence letter written by Thomas Jefferson to John Adams on the death of his wife Abigail. A true wordsmith, Jefferson blends sympathy with eloquence as few others could.
“The public papers, my dear friend, announce the fatal event of which your letter of October the 20th had given me ominous foreboding. Tried myself in the school of affliction, by the loss of every form of connection which can rive the human heart, I know well, and feel what you have lost, what you have suffered, are suffering, and have yet to endure. The same trials have taught me that for ills so immeasurable, time and silence are the only medicine.” -Thomas Jefferson
