Both Doughtie and I have lost a loved one to cancer... both whom happened to be a boy named Tyler. While much more personal for Patrick, as it is the story of his son, the connection still brought back memories for me of the little boy I loved, and reminded me how movies can impact the lives of people like I had once written of Tyler Graebener.

Patrick shared with me that "the story of Letters to God is about a little boy who has cancer and writes letters to God, and was inspired by my son. The film version shares how he impacted people and it touches on his childlike faith. In the story he has an impact on a down-and-out postal worker."

I asked how different the story was from real life and Patrick responded: "A lot of the conversations between the son and mother are actually conversations between me and my son. The movie is really Tyler's cancer story wrapped in fiction. The letters are a metaphor of his life and his love for God. In real life, Tyler was his own letter to God."

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