1 Sealed Letter

In this episode, we explore the fascinating world of wax seals and the symbolism behind them. Wax seals were used for centuries as a way to authenticate documents, and they were also a form of personal expression. In Victorian times, wax seals became increasingly popular, and they were often adorned with intricate symbols that conveyed a range of meanings.

We delve into the meanings behind some of the most common Victorian symbols found on wax seals.

In this episode, I will explore the ways in which you can leverage the power of AI language models like ChatGPT to enhance your letter writing abilities.

I discuss what ChatGPT is and how it works. Then, we will delve into some specific use cases for ChatGPT, such as generating new ideas and refining your writing style.

I will also share some tips and best practices for using ChatGPT effectively, including how to give clear and specific prompts, how to evaluate the quality of the responses you receive, and how to integrate ChatGPT into your writing process.

In the 50th episode, we read a letter to a cartoonist who changed the world. I muse about what it means to follow a dream even when we don’t know what will come and share some of my favorite insights from Iwerks’ career. If you haven’t heard of Iwerks, changes are you still know his most famous cartoon! Subscribe to for updates here: KathrynHastingsCo.com/subscribe

What happens after someone dies? Are they gone forever or do we have a way to reach them? In this episode, I share my own technique for connecting with those beyond our world. Through this type of letter writing, I find peace with my grief and learn lessons from those no longer living.

In the Dunhuang Provence of China, citizens often sent apology letters for their transgressions, but their method of drafting was quite unique. In this episode, we read a short apology letter and talk about regret and shame. I also share what I learned from Daniel Pink’s research for using our regrets to empower our development.

In 1939, the Atlantic Monthly Magazine published never-before-seen love letters between Abraham Lincoln and Ann Rutledge, his presumed first love.

Ostensibly the letters had been passed down through the family of Wilma Minor, the journalist who broke the story. 🚩 With any good story though, everything wasn’t as it seemed…

Sources:

Abraham Lincoln and Ann Rutledge

JOHN Y. SIMON

Skip other details (including permanent urls, DOI, citation information)

Volume 11, Issue 1, 1990, pp. 13-33

Permalink: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.2629860.0011.104

The Atlantic Archives

February 1929 Issue

Lincoln the Lover

III. The Tragedy

By Wilma Frances Minor

Learn my technique for planning, organizing and refining the contents of my letters. I don’t do this for every letter, but the technique works wonderfully if you’re not sure what to write OR if you have many ideas and aren’t sure how to organize them.

Why do friendship breakups happen? What is the best way to end a friendship? In this episode, we read a letter from John Steinbeck to his friend George Albee, which confronts Albee for his bad behavior as a friend.

In this episode, we learn from Susan L. Carruthers about the complex history of “Dear John” letters, and explore the larger context of how romantic correspondence aided and hindered martial strategy.

Susan L. Carruthers wrote the first full length history of “Dear John” letters in her book, “Dear John, Love and Loyalty in Wartime America.”

You can learn more about her book and purchase a copy for yourself here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/dear-john/1797B606C15FADDC0DE85650877B440A

Follow Susan and her work here:

https://www.susanlcarruthers.com

How is it possible we haven’t talked about this before? In this episode, I share some stories from my time collecting and teach you about the collector’s mindset.

If you’d like to learn how to collect, please pre-order my guide here. It goes out October 1st. https://py.pl/11HDvv

Seal inspiration:

https://pin.it/3CCUH8P