(no subject)
Dear Mr. Brian Jacques,
I heard from a friend today that you passed away on the fifth of this month from a heart attack. While in the back of my mind, I knew this day would soon come, I never expected it to be so soon.
Though it's been a few years since I last read one of the Redwall books, they have a special place in my heart and mind. I discovered your books shortly after I turned twelve, and proceeded to read every single one I could get my hands on. My favorites were what I called the 'Cregga Arc'--The Long Patrol, Marlfox, and Taggerung. I always loved the badger characters, though I personally identified more with the mice or squirrels.
Your books got me through some impossibly hard times; aside from the typical troubles a thirteen year old girl in America goes through, your books saw me through my mother's cancer, and later my grandfather's death. They saw me through the hell that was my pre-high school education, and continued to see me through my first year.
I still have every single Redwall book I ever bought, some in multiples because I thought I'd lost the original copy. I do not plan to give them away, and should I ever have children, I will take the books out and hand them to my children, saying, "Look. This is what I read when I was your age. You don't find authors like him anymore."
Farewell, Mr. Jacques. May Martin the Warrior be waiting for you at Dark Forest gates.
---A Fan