About the Author

Ailsa Piper has made her life in the arts, having worked as a writer across many mediums, and as a director, actor, teacher, speaker and broadcaster - but for her, the most important labels are 'walker' and 'friend'. Ailsa was co-winner of the Patrick White Playwright's Award for her script Small Mercies, and her passions for walking and poetry were reflected in her memoir Sinning Across Spain. She is a collector of postcards, a student of three of the Romance languages, and a hopeless swimmer - but she is taking lessons.

Monsignor Tony Doherty was the parish priest at Rose Bay in Sydney for twelve years. Before that he was Dean of St Mary's Cathedral, which saw him oversee the erection of its spires in 2000 and also the visit of a Pope. This followed decades of work in adult education. Throughout his fifty-plus years as a priest, he has written and published widely, in a quest to demystify religious language. He is a lover of good conversation, a passionate reader and swims daily in his beloved Sydney harbour.

Both Ailsa and Tony are inspiring speakers and regular media contributors. They perform brilliantly as a double act, and can also see the text being performed on stage.

Reviews

'To read this book is to be present at the unfurling of a tender friendship between two thoughtful, compassionate humans, and like all the best collections of letters it's also a discursive wander through life's big questions. It will make you grateful for what you have, while urging you to seize the day with the people you love... It will make you want to write letters: good ones. I will read this book again and again.' Charlotte Wood, Stella Prize-winning author of The Natural Way of Things

'...captures the intoxication of being swept into a new and deeply nourishing friendship. It fizzes with joy and humour, wrestles with agonising questions, always anchored in compassion and wisdom.' Debra Oswald, author of Useful

'The Attachmentmade me want to notice my world, love my world,shape it into words. It is a book about friendship but more than that, these two letter-writers - these unlikely friends - are mature enough to know the value of the moment, the value of friendship, how precious and fleeting life is... I was moved, and surprised, and completed the book in a veil of tears...The book enriched me, and inspired me.' Sofie Laguna, Miles Franklin award-winning author ofThe Eye of the Sheep

'From the first seed of recognition, the feverish exchange of ideas and confidences to a deep and abiding appreciation, The Attachment is a candid, illuminating journey into the heart of a profound and unexpected friendship, and a testament to the art of correspondence.'Kat Stewart, actor

'...the chronicle of an unlikely but beautiful friendship thatwill inspire you to value your own friendships more highly, and to nurture them more carefully.' Hugh Mackay, author of Beyond Belief