Dear Orchid: Letters and New Beginnings-True Stories and Fiction filled with Heart, Humor, and Hope

＂Powerful, haunting, and precise. Each of the essays and stories in Van Den Hende’s collection-whether a three-page reverie of childhood’s joys and tragedies or a candid peek into the life of a wounded hero-land with a piercing clarity.＂ -FIONA DAVIS, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Queen

Dear Orchid opens the heart in unexpected ways: through true stories and new fiction that explore loss and love, silence and recovery, and hard-won resilience.

This collection is an Asian American author’s homage to Mary-Louise Parker’s Dear Mr. You, through letters to a girl newly freed from East Berlin, an aunt lost to Communist-era borders, and Purple Heart-decorated heroes. These intimate portraits explore the messy beauty of friendship, family, disability, and belonging.

You’ll meet a wounded hero who jokes through his pain, a beloved cat with a crayon note taped to his back (＂HELP ME＂), and people who refuse to be defined by what they’ve lost.

The final chapter brings a fictional reunion with the unforgettable characters from the Goodbye Orchid trilogy, offering healing, closure, and second chances.

Told in a lyrical, letter-style format, this collection blends memoir and imagination in a deeply personal exploration of grief, identity, and human connection. It’s a window into private moments that echo something universal, especially for those who have ever felt unseen, misunderstood, or left behind.

Underneath the heartbreak and humor runs the quiet pull between star-crossed lovers, whose stories unfold across time, distance, and impossible odds. These tales include elements of multicultural and medical romance and unforgettable moments of vulnerability and hope.

Whether you’re drawn to true stories of survival or fictional narratives filled with tenderness and truth, Dear Orchid offers an emotional journey that celebrates love in all its forms.

A collection for anyone who’s ever loved, lost, or longed to understand the emotional truth behind the quiet moments that shape us.

These aren’t just stories.

They’re letters to everyday heroes.

For you. For us. For the moments that make us human.