The Loving the Difficult launch was extraordinary. The Heritage Hall was packed. Book sales were so brisk that Frances Wasserlein leapt in to help Janine Fuller at the book table. And Jane Rule’s voice was there, almost in the air. Penny Goldsmith and Ann Saddlemyer read essays from the new book. Margaret Atwood (via DVD) read Jane’s last letter to her, saying first how much she enjoyed Atwood’s new book of poems, and second, that she was dying of liver cancer and feeling almost relieved about it. Donna Dietch read her first letter to Jane and Jane’s first to her, Donna’s dated July 25, 1977, outlining why and how she wanted to make Desert of the Heart into a movie, and Jane’s dated July 30, 1977, wholeheartedly saying yes.
It was an evening to stay with you: a tribute, a memorial, a celebration.