I Will Always Write Back

I Will Always Write Back

by

Caitlin Alifirenka, Martin Ganda, and Liz Welch

Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka Character Analysis

Caitlin, one of the book’s coauthors, is a girl from Hatfield (a small town outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). Starting in the late 1990s, she becomes a long-distance pen pal and eventually a best friend to a Zimbabwean boy named Martin Ganda. Caitlin lives with Caitlin’s mom, Caitlin’s dad, and her brother Richie. By her own description, she’s a fairly typical suburban girl who enjoys malls and roller rinks and who obsesses over crushes and has drama with her friends. When her teacher Mrs. Miller announces that the class will be writing letters to pen pals, Caitlin chooses to write to a student in Zimbabwe because she doesn’t know anything about the country. As her correspondence with Martin continues, however, Caitlin begins to develop a more personal relationship with Martin, eventually coming to think of him as a brother. While Caitlin is eager to do research online about Zimbabwe, at first there are many things she doesn’t understand about Martin and his life. She doesn’t realize at first that, for him, it’s difficult to find the money for stamps and even harder to get a photograph taken. When Martin finally feels comfortable opening up to Caitlin about his family’s poverty, Caitlin begins sending him money, initially in secret but eventually with her whole family’s support. Together, Caitlin and her family (along with workers at an embassy and administrators at Martin’s school) help Martin achieve his dream of studying at a U.S. university. Caitlin’s story is evidence of the value of kindness. A comparatively small sacrifice for her (the letters and money that she sends to Martin) ends up having a major impact on Martin’s life. Caitlin herself is also rewarded for her generosity, as she builds a lifelong relationship with Martin that helps her find purpose in her own life. In the epilogue, she continues to be friends with Martin, inviting him to give a speech at her wedding to Dzmitry Alifirenka. Before publishing the book about her letters to Martin, Caitlin learns to accept that her story with Martin isn’t just theirs anymore—it now belongs in part to everyone who reads about it.

Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka Quotes in I Will Always Write Back

The I Will Always Write Back quotes below are all either spoken by Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka or refer to Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Kindness and Generosity Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Caitlin, September 1997 Quotes

I’d never heard of Zimbabwe. But something about the way the name looked on the blackboard intrigued me. It was exotic, and difficult to pronounce.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Mrs. Miller
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Martin, October 1997 Quotes

Everyone started chattering. We all knew and loved America. It was the land of Coca-Cola and the WWF, World Wrestling Federation.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Page Number: 13
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Martin, November 1997 Quotes

When I unfolded the letter, a small snapshot fell onto my desk.

I could not believe my pen pal would send me something so precious. Photos are very rare and quite expensive in Zimbabwe.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Mrs. Jarai
Related Symbols: Photographs
Page Number: 31
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Caitlin, January 1998 Quotes

The next line really cracked me up: Have you heard the one from Spicy Girls, which says friendship never ends?

I laughed out loud when he called them “Spicy,” and hoped that the line would be our motto.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker)
Page Number: 47
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Martin, April 1998 Quotes

The next evening, with a full belly, I wrote Caitlin a letter. I thanked her for the very generous dollar bill and told her I would send her something in return soon. I considered sending her a Zimbabwean dollar but knew that was one day’s worth of sadza. So instead, I made the only promise that I knew I could keep: that I would always write back, no matter what.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Related Symbols: Chicken
Page Number: 52
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Caitlin, December 1998 Quotes

It was strange, because even though we had never met, Martin was the only person I felt I could be totally honest with. I never worried that he would judge or tease. On the contrary, I could tell Martin whatever was happening in my life, knowing he’d always take my side, no matter what.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Martin’s Father (George Ganda)
Page Number: 85
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Caitlin, May 1999 Quotes

I continued to check the mail every single day for weeks. And then one day, I saw an envelope so completely covered with stamps it barely had space for my name and address. Martin was alive! I ripped it open, thrilled. But when I unfolded the actual letter, I gasped. My friend was writing to me on trash.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda
Page Number: 105
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, June 1999 Quotes

A lesser man may have been threatened by Caitlin’s generosity. Here was a fourteen-year-old girl sending us more money than my father made in several months. My father only had love and respect for Caitlin. Her letters had always been precious to me. Now they were also crucial to my whole family. We were on a ship that was sinking, huddled at the tip before it went under. Caitlin’s gift was a lifeboat.

My mother was afraid to keep this much money in our house. It made us a target in these difficult times.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Martin’s Father (George Ganda), Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda)
Related Symbols: Chicken
Page Number: 124
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Caitlin, November 1999 Quotes

Reading that letter brought tears to my eyes. He was so proud. He had never asked me for help. Asking my parents for help was probably one of the hardest things for him to have to do. He did not want to burden me. He knew that I would get sick worrying about him in such need. But there it was, written on paper, a huge SOS. My parents knew I had a pen pal in Zimbabwe, but they did not know how close we had become. That evening, I decided to tell them everything. It was the only way I could truly help Martin.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz)
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, November 1999 Quotes

And then, like magic, a letter arrived.

This one, however, had been ripped and taped back up in a crude way. Someone had written in capital letters INSPECTED FOR CONTRABAND across Caitlin’s beautiful penmanship. It felt like a violation.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville)
Page Number: 153
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, January 2000 Quotes

Thanks to Caitlin, we ate chicken for Christmas that year, a miracle considering what our friends and neighbors were experiencing. In Zimbabwe, if you have food, you share it, so our neighbors ate chicken with us.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Related Symbols: Chicken
Page Number: 162
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, January 2000 (2) Quotes

Thank you for your effort, love, and time. Thank you for the shoes you gave us. My mom, I repeat, is now counted as a human in society.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda)
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 180
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Caitlin, March 2001 Quotes

Damon was different from the guys I dated in middle school. He was more mature, and sensitive. I understood why when I met his dad. He had MS and was in a wheelchair as a result. That meant he needed full-time care to do anything from eat to go to the bathroom. Damon’s mom took care of his dad, and basically let her kids fend for themselves.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz), Damon
Page Number: 252
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Caitlin, April 2001 Quotes

The day after my birthday, my mom took me out of school to go get my learner’s permit. Damon met me at the DMV—he had skipped school, but lied to my mom when she asked him why he had the day off.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz), Damon
Page Number: 262
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Martin, July 2001 Quotes

Hours later, a nurse confirmed it was malaria—thankfully not cerebral. She needed IV fluids immediately. She was so dehydrated that she was at risk of dying without them. But the hospital couldn’t afford to supply any medicine. Instead, the nurse told us what we needed, and then we had to secure it.

“There is a man outside wearing a blue shirt,” she said. “He sells IVs.”

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda), Nation
Page Number: 267
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5: Caitlin, September 2001 Quotes

I started connecting all the pieces: My dad worked for the government; he was at a military base; the Pentagon had been hit. I jumped to the impossible notion: My dad may be dead. I shook my head. That was preposterous. But then I remembered the fire I saw in the sky on the TV earlier that morning. That seemed impossible too.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz), Richie, Damon
Page Number: 278
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5: Martin, June 2002 Quotes

I was surprised to receive a letter from Caitlin’s mom. In it she offered to help me navigate the complicated American college admission process. I was so happy to hear this. It was further proof that Caitlin was not the only angel in this family.

Anne asked me if I had ever heard of the SATs. I had, in fact, because my good friend Wallace had taken them earlier that year. He, too, was planning to go to school in the States that September.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz)
Page Number: 290
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Caitlin, June 2003 Quotes

Today was different.

“We’d better start thinking about how to break it to him,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda, Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville)
Page Number: 355
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Martin, July 2003 Quotes

The first line of the email was like rocket fuel:

We are pleased to offer you a full scholarship beginning with the 2003-2004 academic year.

It propelled me from my seat. The breath I’d been holding for the past few months came barreling out of my mouth as I shouted, “Yesssssss!”

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville)
Page Number: 359
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Martin, August 15, 2003 Quotes

I felt Caitlin squeeze my hand, and I squeezed back. After six years of imagining what it would be like to see her, to hug her, to hear her laugh, to hold her hand, here she was, my best friend from afar, now standing right next to me.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Page Number: 380
Explanation and Analysis:
Epilogue: Martin, March 5, 2008 Quotes

Watching him exchange vows with Caitlin earlier that day, I got a bit choked up. Caitlin and I had already shared so many milestones—and still have many ahead. I did not know then that I would go on to do my MBA at Duke, or that Caitlin would finish her nursing degree, as she had planned since she was sixteen or give birth to a beautiful baby girl. All I knew was that we both had witnessed so many of each other’s dreams come true.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Dzmitry Alifirenka
Page Number: 386
Explanation and Analysis:
Epilogue: Caitlin, October 2015 Quotes

I have no idea what any of these young people will do with the emotions our story stirred in each of them—but I am excited by the possibilities. It’s why I wanted to write this book.

Kindness is contagious. It changes lives. It changed mine. What will it do for you?

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Martin’s Father (George Ganda), Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz), Lois
Page Number: 396
Explanation and Analysis:
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I Will Always Write Back PDF

Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka Quotes in I Will Always Write Back

The I Will Always Write Back quotes below are all either spoken by Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka or refer to Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Kindness and Generosity Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Caitlin, September 1997 Quotes

I’d never heard of Zimbabwe. But something about the way the name looked on the blackboard intrigued me. It was exotic, and difficult to pronounce.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Mrs. Miller
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Martin, October 1997 Quotes

Everyone started chattering. We all knew and loved America. It was the land of Coca-Cola and the WWF, World Wrestling Federation.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Page Number: 13
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Martin, November 1997 Quotes

When I unfolded the letter, a small snapshot fell onto my desk.

I could not believe my pen pal would send me something so precious. Photos are very rare and quite expensive in Zimbabwe.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Mrs. Jarai
Related Symbols: Photographs
Page Number: 31
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Caitlin, January 1998 Quotes

The next line really cracked me up: Have you heard the one from Spicy Girls, which says friendship never ends?

I laughed out loud when he called them “Spicy,” and hoped that the line would be our motto.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker)
Page Number: 47
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Martin, April 1998 Quotes

The next evening, with a full belly, I wrote Caitlin a letter. I thanked her for the very generous dollar bill and told her I would send her something in return soon. I considered sending her a Zimbabwean dollar but knew that was one day’s worth of sadza. So instead, I made the only promise that I knew I could keep: that I would always write back, no matter what.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Related Symbols: Chicken
Page Number: 52
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Caitlin, December 1998 Quotes

It was strange, because even though we had never met, Martin was the only person I felt I could be totally honest with. I never worried that he would judge or tease. On the contrary, I could tell Martin whatever was happening in my life, knowing he’d always take my side, no matter what.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Martin’s Father (George Ganda)
Page Number: 85
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Caitlin, May 1999 Quotes

I continued to check the mail every single day for weeks. And then one day, I saw an envelope so completely covered with stamps it barely had space for my name and address. Martin was alive! I ripped it open, thrilled. But when I unfolded the actual letter, I gasped. My friend was writing to me on trash.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda
Page Number: 105
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, June 1999 Quotes

A lesser man may have been threatened by Caitlin’s generosity. Here was a fourteen-year-old girl sending us more money than my father made in several months. My father only had love and respect for Caitlin. Her letters had always been precious to me. Now they were also crucial to my whole family. We were on a ship that was sinking, huddled at the tip before it went under. Caitlin’s gift was a lifeboat.

My mother was afraid to keep this much money in our house. It made us a target in these difficult times.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Martin’s Father (George Ganda), Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda)
Related Symbols: Chicken
Page Number: 124
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Caitlin, November 1999 Quotes

Reading that letter brought tears to my eyes. He was so proud. He had never asked me for help. Asking my parents for help was probably one of the hardest things for him to have to do. He did not want to burden me. He knew that I would get sick worrying about him in such need. But there it was, written on paper, a huge SOS. My parents knew I had a pen pal in Zimbabwe, but they did not know how close we had become. That evening, I decided to tell them everything. It was the only way I could truly help Martin.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz)
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, November 1999 Quotes

And then, like magic, a letter arrived.

This one, however, had been ripped and taped back up in a crude way. Someone had written in capital letters INSPECTED FOR CONTRABAND across Caitlin’s beautiful penmanship. It felt like a violation.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville)
Page Number: 153
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, January 2000 Quotes

Thanks to Caitlin, we ate chicken for Christmas that year, a miracle considering what our friends and neighbors were experiencing. In Zimbabwe, if you have food, you share it, so our neighbors ate chicken with us.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Related Symbols: Chicken
Page Number: 162
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Martin, January 2000 (2) Quotes

Thank you for your effort, love, and time. Thank you for the shoes you gave us. My mom, I repeat, is now counted as a human in society.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda)
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 180
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Caitlin, March 2001 Quotes

Damon was different from the guys I dated in middle school. He was more mature, and sensitive. I understood why when I met his dad. He had MS and was in a wheelchair as a result. That meant he needed full-time care to do anything from eat to go to the bathroom. Damon’s mom took care of his dad, and basically let her kids fend for themselves.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz), Damon
Page Number: 252
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Caitlin, April 2001 Quotes

The day after my birthday, my mom took me out of school to go get my learner’s permit. Damon met me at the DMV—he had skipped school, but lied to my mom when she asked him why he had the day off.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz), Damon
Page Number: 262
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Martin, July 2001 Quotes

Hours later, a nurse confirmed it was malaria—thankfully not cerebral. She needed IV fluids immediately. She was so dehydrated that she was at risk of dying without them. But the hospital couldn’t afford to supply any medicine. Instead, the nurse told us what we needed, and then we had to secure it.

“There is a man outside wearing a blue shirt,” she said. “He sells IVs.”

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda), Nation
Page Number: 267
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5: Caitlin, September 2001 Quotes

I started connecting all the pieces: My dad worked for the government; he was at a military base; the Pentagon had been hit. I jumped to the impossible notion: My dad may be dead. I shook my head. That was preposterous. But then I remembered the fire I saw in the sky on the TV earlier that morning. That seemed impossible too.

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz), Richie, Damon
Page Number: 278
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5: Martin, June 2002 Quotes

I was surprised to receive a letter from Caitlin’s mom. In it she offered to help me navigate the complicated American college admission process. I was so happy to hear this. It was further proof that Caitlin was not the only angel in this family.

Anne asked me if I had ever heard of the SATs. I had, in fact, because my good friend Wallace had taken them earlier that year. He, too, was planning to go to school in the States that September.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz)
Page Number: 290
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Caitlin, June 2003 Quotes

Today was different.

“We’d better start thinking about how to break it to him,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda, Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville)
Page Number: 355
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Martin, July 2003 Quotes

The first line of the email was like rocket fuel:

We are pleased to offer you a full scholarship beginning with the 2003-2004 academic year.

It propelled me from my seat. The breath I’d been holding for the past few months came barreling out of my mouth as I shouted, “Yesssssss!”

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville)
Page Number: 359
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 6: Martin, August 15, 2003 Quotes

I felt Caitlin squeeze my hand, and I squeezed back. After six years of imagining what it would be like to see her, to hug her, to hear her laugh, to hold her hand, here she was, my best friend from afar, now standing right next to me.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka
Page Number: 380
Explanation and Analysis:
Epilogue: Martin, March 5, 2008 Quotes

Watching him exchange vows with Caitlin earlier that day, I got a bit choked up. Caitlin and I had already shared so many milestones—and still have many ahead. I did not know then that I would go on to do my MBA at Duke, or that Caitlin would finish her nursing degree, as she had planned since she was sixteen or give birth to a beautiful baby girl. All I knew was that we both had witnessed so many of each other’s dreams come true.

Related Characters: Martin Ganda (speaker), Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka, Dzmitry Alifirenka
Page Number: 386
Explanation and Analysis:
Epilogue: Caitlin, October 2015 Quotes

I have no idea what any of these young people will do with the emotions our story stirred in each of them—but I am excited by the possibilities. It’s why I wanted to write this book.

Kindness is contagious. It changes lives. It changed mine. What will it do for you?

Related Characters: Caitlin Stoicsitz Alifirenka (speaker), Martin Ganda, Caitlin’s Mom (Anne Neville), Martin’s Father (George Ganda), Martin’s Mother (Chioniso Ganda), Caitlin’s Dad (Richard Stoicsitz), Lois
Page Number: 396
Explanation and Analysis: