Katie Slocum grabbed a copy of Ann Patchett’s State of Wonder from a Little Free Library in Northwest Washington, D.C., around 2024, put it on her shelf, and forgot about it. When the 36-year-old finally flipped through the novel earlier this year, something slid out that had been waiting longer than the book had. As The Washington Post reported, it was a handwritten letter dated August 2003, written in cursive on floral stationery and addressed to “My dearest Jackie.”

The letter was from a grandmother, name unknown, to a granddaughter she clearly adored. It recalled the girl’s childhood performances for the family and described the teenager she’d become as someone who could “bubble and sparkle like a rare vintage champagne.”

“Instantly, I knew it was........

© Upworthy