Stationed in the South Pacific during World War II, Seymour Orner wrote a letter every day to his wife, Lorraine. She seldom responded, leading him to plead in 1945, "Another day and still no word from you." 70 years later, Peter Orner writes in response to his grandfather's plea: "Maybe we read because we seek that word from someone, from anyone." This is a unique chain of essays and intimate stories that meld the lived life and the reading life. Orner's highly personal take on literature alternates with his own true stories of loss and love, hope and despair. This is a book for anyone for whom reading is as essential as breathing.