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by Keqing Chen (Editor)
A Letter of Love is a deeply moving, multi-voiced memoir that traces the luminous life of Lianne Zhang (Li Yang Zhang)-a daughter, a friend, a seeker of truth, and a brilliant soul whose presence continues to shine even after her passing. Written collaboratively by her parents, closest friends, mentors, and Lianne herself, this book becomes a long, tender letter composed by many hands, each offering a different facet of love, grief, and remembrance.
The book opens with Lianne's parents recounting her early years in Beijing-her laughter, her precocious mind, her sensitivity, and her vivid imagination. They share intimate stories of her childhood: the songs she loved, the Chinese name infused with family history, her early fascination with storytelling, and her constant search for identity as she moved to the United States and navigated two cultures. Through their eyes, readers witness a girl who grew into a young woman defined by intelligence, empathy, curiosity, and a fierce hunger for emotional truth.
As Lianne travels through schools, cities, friendships, heartbreaks, and careers across the U.S., her loved ones reveal the ways she enriched their lives-through her warm letters, long conversations, unfiltered vulnerability, and the rare ability to make others feel fully seen. Many describe her as "a light," someone whose presence added depth, color, and meaning to the world around her.
The latter part of the book chronicles Lianne's five-year battle with cancer, narrated through her own journal entries and reflections. These pages illuminate her enduring faith, her courage, and her insistence on living with intention even as time grew short. They also reveal her final creative ambition: to write a Modern Love essay as a tribute to the oncologist who gave her hope. Though the essay was left unfinished, its fragments-filled with honesty, wit, and emotional clarity-capture her voice with stunning immediacy.
Ultimately, A Letter of Love is not simply a memorial. It is a celebration of connection. It shows how a single life can ripple outward, touching dozens of others with humor, beauty, kindness, and grace. It is a testament to the power of memory and storytelling to preserve what is most precious. And it invites readers to reflect on how we love, how we grieve, and how we carry forward the light of those we've lost.
A Letter of Love is a book for anyone who has loved deeply, lost deeply, and continues to believe in the enduring force of love.
