itsdreyhere
Hello there,
I don’t know if you will ever read this someday, but if you do, I want to say thank you—truly, deeply—for writing July & Cedar.
When I first saw the first book of July & Cedar, I was 17… or about to turn 18. I was at the lowest point of my life, and all hope had truly left me. I was alone, unable to tell my family or my friends what I was going through.
When I first read the first book, I was shaken by Dawn’s death. As I kept reading, I realized how deeply I related to Cedar—his burdens, the expectations placed on him, his family situation. It felt painfully familiar.
I almost ended my life back then. But somehow, my attempt that night failed, and I woke up the next day. After a few days, I continued reading the first book, and I found comfort in it. I learned so much from your writing. When I finished the first book of July & Cedar, I made a promise to myself that I would not die before I finished reading the second book.
The second book was not easy for me to begin. Knowing that July would eventually be gone, I left it sitting in my library for months—maybe even a year. But I still held on to my promise. No matter how much my situation worsened, I refused to give up—not until I finished the second book of July & Cedar.
itsdreyhere
@itsdreyhere I truly, deeply want to thank you for writing this story so beautifully, for touching the most vulnerable parts of me. I am now almost 21 years old. I am still alive, and I have grown alongside the book you wrote. Because of your writing, I made it through years of my life still breathing—and now, things are starting to get better. I am no longer the frightened and confused 17-year-old I once was. I have become stronger. I can talk about my worries with my friends and family. And I will continue to live well from now on, carrying all my memories of July & Cedar in my heart. Thank you for helping me rise from my lowest point, for teaching me life lessons, for giving me the motivation to keep living, and through July & Cedar, for guiding me toward a new chapter of my life. I will live well, and I will continue to mention you in my prayers and gratitude. P.S. I forgot to press “vote” on the second book of July & Cedar, but I will leave it that way for now—so that one day I can come back, reread it, and remind myself that I have grown into a better and stronger version of who I was. And when that time comes, I will press vote as a way of saying, “I am still alive, and I have been living well all this time.”
itsdreyhere
@itsdreyhere At the beginning of this year, I felt something shift inside me, even though my situation was getting worse again. Somehow, when I was sick, I remembered all the things I had not yet done—including finishing your book—and somehow, I found a new hope to live. I started getting better. I began doing the things I used to postpone. Little by little, I was able to express my thoughts. I even wrote down what I wanted to say to my family in a letter that I don’t know when will be found. I talked to my mother, and my relationship with her slowly began to improve. Over the past week, I have felt much better, and I finally started reading the second book of July & Cedar. I was surprised by how Cedar finally spoke to his mother. And this afternoon, I finally finished the second book. I realized that my determination to finish the second book was not truly because of my promise to stay alive until I completed it. It was because I had already found hope for living—and I didn’t want to leave any regrets behind by not finishing this book.
