Sorry to hear you are not feeling well. You sound very grounded. There is no reason to think he cannot write you an equally thoughtful letter in response. It is warranted in this case. And while you may need to insist on receiving it, IMO it is worth the effort. He needs to spend the time thinking about what his marriage means to him. A short verbal answer would not take him through the thought process. It is not so much your need to receive the letter as it is his need to go through the thought process it takes to write the letter.
