An Unforgettable Love Story

by Mary Beth Duffey

Dear Mark,

I have just finished reading your Book of Mev, only to reread and ponder and savor it all over again. As an English professor, I hold it as a work of art. As a wife (and mom of one of your students), I read it as a work of love. As a delegate to El Salvador, I see this book as prophetic witness. Thank you for writing from the core, even when that must have been a raw reopening of pain. I found myself ending a chapter by going for a walk, to be with the images of Mev’s photography and your words. When my family wondered where I was, they would finally figure: “Oh, she must have read another chapter of The Book of Mev! She’s off on one of her walks.”

Teresa has spoken so enthusiastically about your course, a real turning point in her college career. We are so grateful that you are in her life! Finding a mentor/spiritual guide is so much what we hope for in sending our children to Jesuit universities. When it happens, it us such a gift!

I was delighted to hear that you are coming to Milwaukee in September to present a paper at the conference at Marquette. Mike and I would love to meet you. Would you be available to come to our home for supper one evening while you are here? We would like to invite Farah and Irfan to join us if that works for you—and anyone else that you would like to include in the gathering.

Again, my congratulations and gratitude for The Book of Mev! I would love to see this book receive wide readership and critical acclaim. It surpasses such recent books as Tuesdays with Morrie by bringing the audience in touch with some of the most important social justice issues of our time in the context of an unforgettable love story.

Sincerely,

Mary Beth Duffey

Mary Beth Duffey teaches at Mount Mary College in Milwaukee.