Letter Openers: More Essays About Life and Love
A compelling collection of essays written in Hal’s unique style. You can hear his voice and feel his personality in every essay about life, love and travel.
“What if the type of pain we are trying to medicate isn’t physical pain? What if the type of pain our society is trying to medicate is spiritual pain? What if opiates can’t scratch the kind of itch that we have?” from Opiates & Pain
“You might be surprised who is helped the most. It might be me.” from Radical Hospitality
“Where I come from, respect for authority is earned, not granted. Respect for authority is based on trust, and that trust can be lost a lot easier than it can be gained.” from Give Me A Choice
Can Openers: Essays about Life and Love
A longtime essayist, Ward’s thoughtful, funny treatises and letters have long entertained and enlightened his friends and family—inspiring many to store his missives away as treasures.
In Can Openers, Ward gathers together his best observations on modern society, travel, and the arts; the foibles of family life; and—his own personal quest—his wish to see his long-suffering Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl just once before he dies (which, like many dreams, often seems ethereal and unreachable).
As for subject matter, Ward has plenty available. A world traveler who has visited over thirty-six countries, he’s well equipped to compare cultural norms. His love of rock music has brought him to over four hundred concerts, including performances by the Grateful Dead, Springsteen, and Paul McCartney—experiences he draws on throughout his work.
Ward’s essays have something of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” about them: he strips back the veil to expose the truth—even if that truth sometimes proves embarrassing. His writing reflects his own unlimited sense of wonder at the world coupled with the inevitable exasperation that comes from living in modern times.