I got this great, and inspiring, note from Lily Koppel, author of The Red Leather Diary this week, along with this photo of Florence, the woman whose life she discovered in the pages of the red leather diary she found in a dumpster outside her apartment building. Read my first post about the book here, and to invite Lily to speak to your book group, email her at bookclub AT redleatherdiary DOT com.
Three quarters of a century after she kept her original diary, Florence, 93 puts pen to page and writes in her new 'red leather diary' (the new one was auctioned off for the Broward County Library Foundation) at a dinner at Pocock Fine Art & Antiques in Fort Lauderdale, part of Literary Feast.
After fishing Florence's 1930s diary out of a dumpster outside of my Manhattan building, filled with old steamer trunks, and spending years tracking her down and then writing our joint story about the friendship that blossomed in The Red Leather Diary, I realized I had never actually seen Florence write in her diary--until now. As Florence and I autographed books the other night, I asked her, what young Florence, who kept the diary from 14-19 between 1928-1934, would say if she could "peer into her future" and see herself today. "She wouldn't believe it," said Florence, who, upon second thought, said, "Actually, she wouldn't be surprised." She reiterated how she now felt, "I no longer feel like an ordinary older woman. I have a new best friend and am inspired to never put my pen (or laptop) down."
I read this book a few weeks ago and I can't get over how amazing this story is!
Posted by: Julie P. | March 28, 2009 at 01:11 AM
Florence sounds like such a spirited 93 year old!
Posted by: Kathy | March 28, 2009 at 09:02 AM
Wow. I'd love to meet this woman. Guess I have to settle for reading the book - and I will soon!
Posted by: Gwendolyn B. | March 28, 2009 at 10:13 AM
I just got a copy of this and am going to suggest it for my book group. It looks so good.
Posted by: Kiki | March 28, 2009 at 05:39 PM
This is such an incredible story ... makes me want to go Dumpster diving for treasure :)
Posted by: Dawn - She Is Too Fond Of Books | March 30, 2009 at 07:38 AM