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By Root 137 0

the moment I opened them, had been a very private message. Inside the first, a tender apology. The second brought two single-spaced pages of triple-X lust. After that: “I’m not feeling what you’re feeling.” In the end, I had hundreds and hundreds stacked in my living room.

HERE’S SOMETHING I LEARNED ABOUT LOVE LETTERS: MOST DIE AN IGNOMINIOUS DEATH. They’re torn up, tossed out, and fed to the dog. Burned, buried, and flushed. The letters on the pages that follow are the survivors. They were saved and savored. And, now, they’re shared: Every letter here is reproduced with permission from its writer.*

Who wrote these letters? You name it: helicopter pilots, musicians, sociologists, sales reps, students, retirees, housewives, computer programmers, consultants, construction workers, architects, teachers, kids, lawyers, store clerks, filmmakers. The faithful and the adulterous. Maybe someone you know. Maybe your lover.

Gathering these letters provided me with a rare opportunity: the chance to freely poke through other people’s intimate correspondence and not feel the least bit ashamed about it, as you might one day should you let your eyes wander for too long on someone’s kitchen counter. After all, while almost everyone will get a love letter at some point in his or her life, it’s unlikely to be passed around the dinner table. More often it will be squirreled away in the back of the file cabinet in a folder falsely labeled “auto insurance.” (Note: If this is where you’ve been hiding yours, now might be a good time to rethink that.)

Like those still-hidden letters, the notes collected here were written only for a lover’s eyes; they are unflinchingly honest. Reading them is like picking the lock on a stranger’s heart and peering inside during the most intense moments of his or her life. But the fascination here is more complex than a simple case of voyeurism. Because, on a deeper level, the heart you’re looking into is your own.

*In a handful of cases, the letters are reproduced with the permission of the writer’s closest living relative. Also, some letters have been slightly altered to protect the writer’s identity or that of the recipient. One more thing: Not all letters are reproduced in their entirety.

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REOPENING THE ENVELOPE

A few contributors reveal how it felt to search through their closets,