Praise for The Attachment

‘Unless your heart is made of stone, The Attachment will stir in you a deep yearning for connection, for quiet communion, for conversation, for intimacy, for wisdom, for faith, for love . . . for a joyful engagement with life itself. It is the chronicle of an unlikely but beautiful friendship that will inspire you to value your own friendships more highly, and to nurture them more carefully.’ Hugh Mackay, author of Beyond Belief

‘The Attachment captures the intoxication of being swept into a new and deeply nourishing friendship. It fizzes with joy and humour, wrestles with agonising questions, always anchored in compassion and wisdom.’ Debra Oswald, author of Useful

‘From the first seed of recognition, the feverish exchange of ideas and confidences, to a deep and abiding appreciation, The Attachment is a candid, illuminating journey into the heart of a profound and unexpected friendship, and a testament to the art of correspondence.’ Kat Stewart, actor

‘The Attachment made me want to notice my world, love my world, shape it into words. It is a book about friendship but more than that, these two letter-writers—these unlikely friends—are mature enough to know the value of the moment, the value of friendship, how precious and fleeting life is. Both writers are warm, curious, playful, and their letters are rich and full of story and connection. I was moved, and surprised, and completed the book in a veil of tears. Because I felt the mystery behind the letters, I felt the presence of death and darkness in so much light, and life. Both authors are vulnerable travellers, questioning their corresponding worlds, appreciating the good, challenging the bad, the wrong. I appreciated the way Ailsa and Tony were open about their differences. I loved it that both writers ask What is God, What is life and What do we live for? And in the very next sentence they will share the weather, breakfast, the chores of the day. The book enriched me, and inspired me. It felt to me full of dignity and searching.’ Sofie Laguna, Miles Franklin award-winning author of The Eye of the Sheep

‘The Attachment is a beautifully written, soulful book about friendship and what really matters in this life. To read it is to be present at the unfurling of a tender friendship between two thoughtful, compassionate humans, and like all the best collections of letters it’s also a discursive wander through life’s big questions. It will make you grateful for what you have, while urging you to seize the day with the people you love. It made me think about atonement, and responsibility, and freedom; memory, and poetry, and how to farewell the dying. The Attachment is a hymn to paying attention, to walking and swimming and to the deeply consoling role of ritual in our lives. It will make you want to write letters: good ones. I will read this book again and again.’ Charlotte Wood, Stella Prize-winning author of The Natural Way of Things