It all started on Christmas Day 1993. Lisa and Lonnie were sitting on their mom’s rickety yard swing, when Lisa’s curiosity took over. She asked Lonnie questions about his life on the street, about being homeless. To her surprise, he answered honestly, humorously, and thoughtfully.
Postcards from Lonnie is a dialogue between Lonnie, who speaks through the postcards, and his sister, who not only learns a lot about her brother but also about herself. Intimate and revealing, this is a unique family memoir and a universal story of love, respect, family, and ultimately hope.
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“He was uneducated, penniless, homeless—but he had no doubt that he had something to give.”
Postcards from Lonnie by Lisa Johnson is not so much about homelessness as it is about relationships. Lonnie is Lisa’s older brother, and he had been living on Houston’s streets for years. The yearly Christmas day visit was typically the only time Lisa and her mom saw him, and when Lisa began to ask him questions about his life one Christmas day, she just kept asking, long after that visit was over.
The idea to send Lonnie a pack of postcards with various questions for him to answer is both unique and enlightening. Lisa’s memories and view of Lonnie are mainly based on their shared childhood, and getting to know the current Lonnie, homeless and constantly vigilant against danger, sets in motion an amazing journey of discovery, for both of them. After almost a hundred cards, Lisa was no closer to understanding why Lonnie wanted to remained on the streets, but she did gain something far more valuable. A relationship with her older brother.
Lisa’s questions vary between the mundane and the complex, and some questions are posed multiple times with varied answers, depending on the day and Lonnie’s level of drunkenness. Postcards from Lonnie is a heartbreaking glimpse into one man’s life who happened to be homeless. Lisa presents photos of the actual cards in this book in Lonnie’s own handwriting, along with her personal commentary, reflections, memories, and interpretations. Their relationship as children was rich and full of playacting and storytelling—Lonnie could sure spin a tale—and that relationship spills over onto these cards, complete with nicknames and references to made-up tales from long ago.
Everyone has a story and something to offer, and simply asking questions and listening is just as important as handouts and a safe place to sleep.
The main takeaway for me is that we often allow our closest relationships to stagnate or slip through our fingers. Lonnie was homeless in Houston, and Lisa struggled with her own career choices far away from her family, but when Lisa opened the floodgate and the questions poured out, a valuable opportunity was presented. Lisa may never know the ‘why,’ but she found a way to see the man her brother had become. She found that he was caring, funny, independent, and lonely. He had certainly suffered immense heartache, disappointment, and physical injuries, yet he willingly gave his Christmas socks away to others in need. How often do we let our own relationships stagnate, unwilling to take the time to get to know our loved ones as they are right now or even allow them to get to know us?
Postcards from Lonnie is a cautionary tale not necessarily about the pitfalls of alcoholism and homelessness but about relationships. If a person in your life has no access to a phone or a permanent address, find another way to communicate. Lisa did. With pre-stamped postcards, Lisa gave herself and all of us a wonderful gift. The gift of knowing Lonnie Johnson. Lisa did not always get the answers she expected or even hoped for, but she did get the truth as it was at that moment when Lonnie penned his responses.
“I think he saw the cards as a chance to be known and remembered, and for the most part, he told the truth, or at least his truth.”
Lisa’s writing is both fluid and engaging, and she presents the veracity of her brother’s situation with dignity and honor. Lonnie definitely experienced issues throughout his entire life, and he rarely smelled flower fresh or wasn’t drunk while existing on the streets, but he was a human being, and Lisa honors that by giving him a voice and showing us the unvarnished truth about his life on the streets and his thoughts, hopes, dreams, heartache, and even joy. Lisa also shows us that it is never too late to build or re-build relationships with those we love.
Enter the giveaway below on or before March 29, 2020, for a chance to win a signed copy of Postcards from Lonnie by Lisa Johnson.
I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.
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Love this review. You nailed what this book does — and exactly right that the card responses were Lonnie’s truths at the moments he penned them. Thanks for the post.