Admiration

Dear Mr. Tolkien,

   My parents read to me since before I could remember. One of the books I loved best began with, "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit . . ." and when I learned to read, it was one of the first that I squirreled away into a corner to discover on my own. I read with delight of Elves and Eagles, riddles in the dark and maps that showed their full tale only by moonlight, and a hobbit whose size did not determine his bravery, but instead magnified it, for all he was so very small in a very large and confusing world.
   The summer of my seventh or eighth year was spent traveling - across country and through books. My mother, knowing that I loved to read, bought a complete copy of The Lord of the Rings, and I seem to recall little of the trip, for I was immersed in the old, slow world of the Ents; the fierce archaic culture of the Rohirrim; the immeasurable sadness of the Elves whose time is ended; and the high, valorous halls of Gondor, almost at the point of failing yet ready to flower. I learned again the meaning of the words green and silver and sable, and constructed for myself through your story the meanings of other words such as truth and light and courage.
   I have read and reread your books nearly ever year since then, and always I find more good things in them than I did the time before. Now that I understand a little more of the world, I think I see a little better the reason that my heart aches when I read of the rejoicing in the field of Cormallen as Sam and Frodo sit in honor beside the King. Your stories have brought back some few memories which I never had, and yet which are stamped in the very deepest part of my soul.
   As I read of Sam seeing, through the reek of Mordor, a single star, I am reminded that, "in the end the Shadow [is] only a small and passing thing: there [is] light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach." That thought has saved me and helped me to remember to look up when my small troubles seem too much to bear.
   So thank you. Thank you for teaching me not to despise the past, but instead to learn from it. Thank you for showing me that 'even the smallest person can change the course of the future'. Thank you for showing me that words can mean something. For all of these things, I am grateful beyond my ability to express.

Sincerely, Emily