To Dustin Thao

So, I normally don't write letters to anyone, especially not authors. At least those letters are not digital, more of like mental dialogues where I question what they have written, and I almost always wonder what they were thinking while writing and how they were feeling, whether they were actually feeling connected to the characters, how many drafts that they had hidden in their vault and what were the scenes in the drafts that never made it to us, and so on. I always think about the author while reading the book but never with so much as much intensity as I felt while reading all three of you books till now. 

Firstly, I'd like to ask you, SIR, ARE YOU OKAY? Because for you to write such devastatingly heartbreaking novels, you must've faced some serious pain. I am truly sorry if you have, it must be really tough to face but I am glad you made it through (I'm guessing you have made it through but if you're still going through it, tons of hugs and support to you). You must be a really strong person to turn your thoughts into something so beautiful that it touched the hearts of millions of people. Thank you so much for brining such characters into the world.

On that note, I'd also like to tell you that these characters have been the source of some serious pain to my heart and soul. I have sobbed through You've Reached Sam, When Haru Was Here broke my heart into such tiny little pieces that I don't think it'll ever be the same again, but I am so thankful that you gave Oliver a comparatively happier ending. Despite the fact that it hasn't been that long since your writing career started, I feel you have impacted my life with your books in a very interesting way. There has been someone who I have not let myself grieve over because I see it as a sign of weakness, my tears for them had been locked up in a vault and shoved away in my mind since my pre-teen years. Your books, they opened up the portal to my mind that I had long forgotten. 

You Have Reached Sam had helped me remember that it is ok to grieve and yet live your life, that the two things can co-exist and that the one will not hold the other down. The person will always be in your heart, and that you can live your best life because that is what they would've wanted. While the person I grieve over is not romantically connected to me in anyway, their death is still relevant to me by a phone call, kind of like Julie and Sam, except that my person did not pick up the phone unfortunately. When I was a kid, for a long time, I was made to believe that the person was alive but just too far away to answer, which I knew was not possible because that person would've climbed mountains to be there with me. Eventually, I did get to know the truth, but that co-relation still struck a big chord in my heart. I have never sobbed over a sad love story (I don't really know why but I just haven't), but this one has maybe because of the way it was presented, the sweet slow burn of learning how to let go but also hold on to the memories without letting them hold you back. 

I read When Haru Was Here right when it was released because I had started liking your writing and was eager to see what you had to present in this new setting. God, if someone had warned me about the massive heartbreak, I was setting myself up for! I'd still go ahead and read it but, at least I would have been prepared. That book broke me like no other and let me tell you that I wasn't able to read any other book for at least 2-3 weeks after that, I just couldn't bring myself to. I needed so much time to process it, and I have for sure fallen in love with your writing style since then. 

When you announced the launch of You've Found Oliver, I just could not wait because well, I wanted to know what the story of Oliver would be. While I had expected a little more depth in terms of his grief over Sam (kind of what we saw with Julie) and his feelings over Juile, I also get that it was a story about Oliver more than anything else. I did sob over a couple of chapters in the book but overall, it was cute and sweet. It was a relaxing read. I related to Oliver in terms of not knowing where he is going, and him feeling like he's at a station with a missed train while everyone else he knew were off to their own planned destination. 

I genuinely appreciate how you have presented philosophical ideas in all three books and how you have explored the world of what ifs and how is this happening. We often wonder about the alternate endings of our life events, what if we had taken the other road and what if we had done this action, would things have ended differently, would this person be here or would it still have ended the same. I find that a lot of us are stuck in that loop and I love that you have presented it in such a way that even teenagers and young adults understand and relate to it. Often, we read such books that also present these ideas but not in a way that most teens understand it or would immerse themselves in it. 

I have recommended your books to so many people and all of them have come back with more or less the same review that they found it beautifully heartbreaking. 

Anyway, while this write-up has been quite long, I hope that you read it, but even if you don't, I hope that more people read your books, so I get to discuss them and understand what they think of the books. 
Please release more books soon. Looking forward to reading them and sharing my views on the same!