What a lovely, gracious response. Thank you, friend @redheadpei.
I'd like to respond, if you would share this with Ms. Murphy:
Dear Ms. Murphy,
Thank you for your gracious comment. So many points in your note strike me. I am also a scribbler. Writers are a distinct breed, with great respect for each other and the effort that goes into our work.
A few years ago I got the book publishing bug. I wrote and wrote, almost without stopping to take a breath. I recovered from that phase, but retain a great regard for and understanding of other writers.
It is a gift to all of us that you have published these life stories. More than that, it is a gift to the contributors. In less sophisticated times, community members would sit around a fire and tell the stories that mattered to family and friends. Tradition was nourished and passed on. Your book serves that function. Contributors are able to tell the stories that matter to them, that help to define their place in time.
Thank you for all the time and effort it took to solicit the stories, to compile them and publish them. I truly did enjoy this book and will be reading it again.