Anyone heard of this little known book, To Elvis, With Love? Or the movie its based on, Touched by Love (80) starring Diane Lane? The movie, Touched By Love, was based on the book To Elvis, With Love. Lena Canadas now very rare memoir tells the powerful, true story of Lenas friendship & love for Karen, the young girl crippled & dying from the effects of cerebral palsy. Its also the story of the power Elvis holds for many people. In Karens case the exchange of letters & gifts between Elvis & her bring incredible joy & happiness to the remainder of her greatly shortened life. The story takes place on outskirts of Stockholm in Sweden where Lena works as a nurse in whats called the Brown House: a charming, old-fashioned building, which, thanks to its size, gave an impression of majestic dignity. The house had been carefully converted into a boarding school-hospital & was home to 20 physically handicapped children. It was while working in the Brown House Lena formed a very special bond with the child only referred to by her Christian name, Karen. It was a bond that would bring great joy & sadness. The horrendous physical disability facing the children is vividly represented in the authors narrative. About Karen, Lena wrote: She was a small child, & the spastic contractions of her skinny body made her appear grotesque & horrifying. Despite its depressing parts, To Elvis, With Love is a story of hope & inspiration. From the 1st time Karen speaks to the incredible fun she & Lena have, this book will touch your heart. The effect of Elvis on both Karen & Lenas lives is strikingly told: Elvis regarded us from the record cover. His eyes seemed to see what was happening between Karen & me, & his eyes understood; they seemed to overflow with pity & compassion. As with the film, Elvis doesnt feature in the book until the story is well set. It also more adequately explains than does the movie how Elvis & Karen came to have a regular exchange of letters & gifts. Lena came across the name of a Hollywood correspondent with close links to Elvis & contacted her with Karens sad story. When the correspondence started, Elvis gave Karen a special address to write to, an address that by-passed his secretaries & came directly to him.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 04:51:28 +0000
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