My Letter

Here is a letter I wrote for the "Letters About Literature" contest.

Dear Sherman Alexie,

Your book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is one of my favorite books of all time. When I read it, I was surprised. It was the first time I felt like the author wasn’t trying to hide facts from me. Lots of young-adult literature tip-toes lightly around subjects like sex, fighting, and the weird thoughts all teenagers probably have, but your book treated those topics as part of being alive and human.  And even though there was a lot of serious stuff in the book, I was surprised at how much laughing I did while reading it. Thank you for telling everybody exactly what we all are thinking and not making us feel bad about it.

I read this book in seventh grade, and at the time I wasn’t the loudest, coolest, or the most active kid. I’m not an American Indian, and my only experience with “the rez” is driving through one on my way to California, but I related to Arnold’s awkwardness and his sense of being “outside the circle.” I’d walk around feeling out of place, and everyone I saw seemed like an enemy or stranger to me.  At the time, I thought I was the only one who felt that way.

I read your book and suddenly realized “Wait, other people think that too?!” This book made it clear that I’m not the only person in the world who has weird fantasies and can’t find answers to questions sometimes.  Arnold’s cartoons made me realize that other people have weird and “inappropriate” thoughts, too. Until I read …Part-Time Indian, I figured that people were like robots, following the programming of their assigned social positions. Those positions were received at birth, and you were stuck with the position you received. Because Arnold  (the “nomadic Indian”) did what others did not expect him to do, I stopped letting the world lead my life, and I started leading my own. I didn’t live the way I was “supposed” to anymore. I let my weird thoughts flourish and accepted them for what they really are: signs of creativity and individuality.

I was surprised with myself when I read the book as well as with the book itself. After the first two or three funny comments and shockingly honest statements, I found that I could relax and enjoy it, probably just like you did when you wrote it. I could laugh at the funny parts and not feel like a weirdo. I even reread a couple parts I thought were worth remembering. As part of an assignment in which we had to select a one-minute reading to share aloud with the class, I chose a passage from your book. You can imagine the reaction in the classroom when, after 25 Shel Silverstein poem presentations, I read these words: “So, okay, I’m going number two, and I’m sitting on the toilet, and I’m concentrating.  I’m in my Zen mode, trying to make this whole things a spiritual experience.”  It was great!

Reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was the first time that I felt a real connection with a book. I finished this book with the rare feeling that I wanted to read more from this author. I’m a slow reader, but I finished your book in two weeks, including the time I spent looking through all the pictures again and reading my favorite parts.  I have returned to it many times. So, Mr. Alexie, I leave you with a quote from your own book:  “You read a book for the story, for each of its words…and you draw your cartoons for the story, for each of the words and images. And, yeah, you need to take that seriously, but you should also read and draw because really good books and cartoons give you a boner.” 

It did!  Thanks!