hamilton

dear one,

finally, at long last, after months of requests from you, i have started reading your book hamilton: the revolution and am making good progress.

the more i read, and the more complexity that develops between and within characters, i feel like i understand hamilton's unique appeal to you. i know your friends like it, too, but it seems to me that it has exactly what you, in particular, need, in the form best suited to you right now. the fact that it is a musical, of course, but also the yearning, disappointment, and death, cleverly told, deeply humanized, and fully adult — yet not too adult for fourth graders to relate to.

at your age, it is important to begin understanding the larger world independently. to glimpse different life paths, greater and lesser sufferings, the limitations that society puts on people, the limitations we put on ourselves, and our inability, often, to see who we are, what we are doing, and where we are headed.

your dad and i have both found much solace in the arts since childhood and you have that same deep need. as i read your book and connect with you through our shared fascination with hamilton's story (as told by chernow), lin-manuel miranda's invocation of it, and jeremey mccarter's narrative describing miranda's invocation, i feel a sense of you stepping into your growing independence and recognizing the supports that will be out there for you in the world: literature, visual art, music, and perhaps most of all, theater. 

thank you for inviting me into hamilton's world. i hope we will always be able to connect through stories.

xo