Sandra E. Lambs "Write the Right Words" Review

I was approached (as many were) by the publicist of a new book by Sandra E. Lamb to review her new book “Write the Right Words” and was sent a free copy of the book. I was very excited to have been asked to participate as well as excited at the prospect of reading a new book based on sending snail mail, be it letters or greeting cards.

To be quite honest, though (and I was very unsure of how to approach this review), I was not a fan of the book. There are several reasons for this, which I shall go over throughout this review.

To begin, Sandra’s book was not really aimed at “me”. Different types and styles of books are aimed at different age groups, people with different hobbies, styles of life, income, etc. This book was obviously aimed at the sort of person who does not actively put pen to paper and send it through the postal mail service. This is a book aimed at those of you who have a hard time putting pen to paper, and those of you who only write to friends or family during special occasions (be they happy or sad) and who need a gentle push in the right direction when it comes down to what to say in those brief instances.

I have never been a fan of greeting cards as a whole - they are too short and very rarely is much care put into them. Sandra has tried to help her readers change that and describes (rather adeptly) how to take on those various situations which so many people try to avoid because they just don’t know what to say or how to say it. For me personally, I would rather sit down, make some stationery, write out a heartfelt letter, decorate it, design it, etc. and send it off with care.

If I was the sort of person who lived within mainstream society and attended many weddings, funerals, birthday parties, showers, and various other social engagements, then this book would be exactly what I would need. Her writing and ideas are very Hallmark inspired and I feel it would be a perfect book to pick up and just flip to the section of the book for the particular event that was going on that week and briefly skim through and write down your thoughts mixed with hers.  I do not, however, attend such events. My friends and family do not have birthday parties, through showers, etc and etc. I am comfortable enough in my own writing that if such an event occurred, I would not need a book to flip through to tell me what to say or think of that particular situation – but that is me in particular.

While I applaud Sandra for trying to get the average person back to the post office and away from “hotmail”, it is not a book I would recommend for my readers to go out and buy. I have more faith in you than that – we are not average people, you and I. We know how to put pen to paper and we already know our postmistress by name. However, for those of you who want to start small and are looking for that small push in the right direction, this book might be the ticket you’re looking for. Get away from e-mail and spend the time putting that lovely pen of yours to some beautiful paper and get writing!