A Story of Hope, Love, And Christmas Miracles. Now, who doesn't love to read a novel that contains all that and more! I know, it's a little early for Christmas, but this is one I had to choose. The cover beckoned me.
I'm a forever kind of Christmas girl so even the title spoke to my heart.
Robert Tate Miller takes us on a Christmas journey the heart will not soon forget. This is a novel that ponders the thought of second chances and just what if this was the last Christmas we spent with the one we love.
Some might say it takes the theme of, A Christmas Carol or It's a Wonderful Life. This isn't exactly a faith themed book. Faith isn't shouting off the pages. It's gently speaking to the soul. This could easily be a Hallmark movie. It has that kind of theme. It speaks to the heart. We see these characters in a transparent way that makes them vulnerable and easy to love.
We are often in a rushed world. We put things off. Mostly people. And for what? Our dream to make a name for ourselves or to see how many hours we can put in to add more to our account. This book makes it pretty real at just what can happen when we forget to live and love.
Let me tell you a bit about the story. We have a married couple. Childhood friends, high school sweethearts. Characters that we can easily relate to. They move way from their small town and into the big city life. Andrew is living his dream and it seems his dream for himself keeps getting bigger. Beth is the girl who lights up a room. Everyone adores her. She's one of those girls you never forget. But most people don't even know that Andrew exists. He's always gone. It seems as if Beth is always waiting. She has so much to offer, but yet feels as if she isn't enough. This is a couple who has lost their way to one another. They desperately want change, they just don't quite know how to get there. So, they just keep going through the motions and as they do they grow apart.
This is a book that we can relate to on many levels. Always busy and putting off what's most important. We forget the value of life. We take for granted what we most treasure. We read on the back cover, "Sometimes it takes a tragedy to change a man's life--and to teach him to treat every day as if it were his last." There are many nuggets to take away from this book. Most importantly, to live with gratitude.
Once I began reading I couldn't put this novel down. I loved how the writer shares the heart of the characters. We don't just learn about them, but we begin to care about them. He writes with such tenderness. I was truly swept away by this story. As I read I began to ponder my own life. I asked, "What if that were me? What exactly would I do in that moment?"
This was a story woven in beauty, love, forgiveness, sacrifice and appreciation. It's timely for the coming season. The season that we are hurried in all the mix of the hustle and bustle. We go through the motions, but we don't take the time to have conversation anymore. We have lost a part of what makes life so special. Enjoying the moment. Living in the now. Letting go of the past and trusting God with the future. Simply put, don't always live life as if we have tomorrow. A beautiful story the heart of man needs to grasp now more than ever before.
This book was a gift from Thomas Nelson for sharing my review with you.
Robert Tate Miller began his writing career with homespun essays of small town life that were published by Reader's Digest, The Christian Science Monitor, and the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980s and wrote successful family-oriented telefilms for NBC, ABC Family, and the Hallmark Channel. Robert lives in Northridge, CA, with his wife Gina and stepdaughter Chloe June. Facebook: RobertTateMiller Twitter @Robtatemiller
