Hi, Mitch Albom here. I wanted to alert you to something new, something I've never tried before. Amazon.com is now offering an exclusive online digital print version of a commencement speech I recently gave that was a personal highlight for me. My nephew – and I remember being in the hospital the day he was born – had asked me to come to his high school and speak to his graduating class. Of course, he lives in France, in a small town just outside of Nice. I'm not sure I know what to say to high schoolers down the block, let alone half a world away.

But since I love my nephew (for some reason, he looks more like me than any child of mine ever could) I couldn't help but say yes. I wrote the speech on the plane ride over, and I wrote it not about my interests or current events but about what he and other young people can expect from the world, what I once expected from it, what we all learn as we go along about life that is inevitable and funny and sad and enlightening and heartbreaking and wonderful.

Anyhow, I gave the talk, and as a bonus, I got to hand my nephew his diploma! It was one of those special moments where the stars seem to align, and afterwards many people asked if they could get a copy of the speech. I wrote a column about the experience and even more people asked about getting a copy of the speech.

Thus, I have agreed, for the first time, to publish something through the web only, and this magazine-length talk is now available through Amazon on their Kindle readers for .99 cents, of which all of my proceeds will be given to a charity, S.A.Y. Detroit, to help the homeless. It's a way of sharing a special moments I had with you, my most important readers, and doing some good for other people at the same time.

I hope you get a chance to check it out. I'm linking here for you, because you have, in the past, been kind enough to read my books, a copy of the column I wrote about giving this speech, which will give you a better idea about the whole thing.

Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoy this new little foray of mine. And for the many of you who ask, yes, I am at work on another book, aiming for publication next year, and yes, For One More Day is finally out in paperback, and the Oprah Winfrey-produced movie is now available on DVD.

Have a great rest of the summer.

Your friend,

Mitch  

Read the article I wrote about giving the speech for the Detroit Free Press on my website, MitchAlbom.com

Here's a link to Amazon's Kindle Store, Mitch Albom Amazon Exclusive