Letters to Emma

On a beautiful summer day in 2015, Fr. John Ostdiek, OFM, was introduced to his seven-month-old great-great-grandniece Emma at the Ostdiek Jubilee Jamboree family reunion. While taking a photo with Emma, a question popped into his mind, “Emma, suppose that the calendar reads 2100. You are 85 years old. What sort of life have you experienced?” Inspired by the thought, the idea for Letters to Emma was born. 


In this volume of letters, Fr. John (who turned 100 years old in August 2022) mixes autobiographical history with a lifetime of insights and lessons learned about the wonder (and sometimes, humor) of cultivating meaningful relationships with God, nature, and ourselves as a way to help Emma and future generations answer that question for themselves.