I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives

The New York Times bestselling true story of an all-American girl, a boy from Zimbabwe, and the letter that changed both of their lives forever.

It started as an assignment. Caitlin had never even heard of Zimbabwe when everyone in her class was told to write a letter to an unknown student in a distant place. Excited for the first time about homework, she went home that night and wrote about her favorite color and what sports she played, and asked her mystery pen-pal about life in Zimbabwe.

Martin had never heard of Pennsylvania when he read Caitlin’s letter. He was lucky to even receive a pen-pal letter--his class only received ten letters for fifty kids! But as the top student, he got the first one. He wrote Caitlin back, talking about his siblings and soccer and saying he hoped she wrote again.

These letters were the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives. In this compelling dual memoir, Caitlin and Martin recount how they became best friends--and better people--through their inspiring long-distance exchange.

Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda met as pen pals in 1997 and are still best friends today. Caitlin, an ER nurse, lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and young daughters. Martin currently lives in New York. He has dual degrees in mathematics and economics from Villanova University and an MBA in finance from Duke University.

Liz Welch is an award-winning journalist and memoirist whose critically acclaimed first book, The Kids Are All Right, co-authored with her sister Diana Welch, won an ALA Alex Award. Her stories have appeared in the New York Times, Parade, Life, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Glamour, Real Simple, Self, Marie Claire, and other publications.