Epistles: A Friendship

depicts a rare divinely planned friendship between two women in the same town who wrote each other letters. This was our chosen medium of communication. The recurrence of Peggy's breast cancer appeared in the fifth year upon her arrival in Corvallis, Oregon. Her goal was survival with quality of life as long as possible to enable her daughters to survive her inevitable death and, through her deep Catholic faith, to believe, to obey, to persevere, and to live fully until forced by physical debilitating conditions to succumb to the disease.

The incipience of Epistles: A Friendship commenced at Mount Angel Abbey within days of Peggy's passing—the book addresses, as I perceive, her faith, obedient life, our friendship, the impact of the recurrence, the struggle to survive, her dying process, and the ultimate passing.

I was requested to speak at her Mass. Her letters were a treasure. The question immediately arose: how did she endure eleven years of physical suffering, silently, with such courage? Cardinal Newman's prayer cited in her service is the answer. Through Peggy's faith and determined obedience, she lived, endured, and emerged the victor.

In Epistles: A Friendship, I have endeavored to depict her incredible story—my gift to Peggy, my unique friend and a legacy for her family. It was an honor to be her friend.