Review
by Deb Czajkowski
The road of life is often filled with potholes, some deeper
than others, and curves that are sometimes sharper than anticipated. Both
threaten to derail us. In The Christmas Light, four families are
journeying life’s difficult stretch of road.
What would happen if the roads they are traveling lead them to the same
place?
Sixteen-year-old Kaylee is a sophomore who is facing a
life-changing decision. Her dad has
accepted a new job in a city far from their current home. They’ve decided to delay their move until
Kaylee’s situation is resolved. Is
staying the best solution?
The past year in particular has been a great struggle for
six-year-old Avery. Christmas is
approaching, but Avery has more demons than sugarplums dancing in her
head. While she lost her father three
years ago, the reality of not having her father in her life anymore has never
been more tangible nor more frightening than it is right now. Her mother, Jennifer, shares her daughter’s
heartache. Can they find a way to face their new normal?
Coming home late one Sunday night from a weekend trip, Ryan
finds his wife, Julie, waiting up for him, waiting to tell him good-bye. Soon thereafter, Julie remarries and moves
with her new family to another state, leaving their daughter, Sofia, with Ryan.
Sofia has adjusted to day-to-day life with her dad and occasional visits with
her mom, but Ryan is stuck. What will it take for him to stop dwelling on what
went wrong and see what is going right?
Lily is the directory of ministry services for Grandon
Community Church. At age thirty-five,
Lily and her husband, Stephen, put their loving marriage at the top of their “Counting
our Blessings” list. One blessing they
have not been able to add to this list is the gift of a child. Does Lily believe in miracles? Is Lily’s
heart’s desire in her future?
If you believe that God does indeed work in mysterious ways,
you will feel his hands-on presence in Donna VanLiere’s delightful book, The Christmas Light. If you are perhaps feeling like his presence
is mysteriously absent from your life right now, read this book for comfort,
patience, and hope; comfort because you are not alone on life’s bumpy road,
patience because there just might be a rest area around the next bend in the
road, and hope because it keeps us focusing on the positive over the negative
while we wait.
Author
Donna VanLiere skillfully presents four separate stories, four roads if you
will, that she beautifully brings to the same corner of the world, uniting them
all in ways that are plausible and satisfying.
If you believe in every day miracles and Christmas magic, you’ll love this
holiday read. If you veer more toward the skeptical, The Christmas Light just might change
your mind!
Purchase the book at:
About the Author:
..a mom, a
wife, an animal lover, and a closet comedian at home. She's passionate about
cooking (...and eating), reading, movies and teaching, inspiring, challenging
and encouraging dreamers! She doesn’t like watching sports on TV but is a huge
fan of athletes under five feet tall who call her Mom. Donna also loves to
write books.
Donna has
won a Retailer's Choice Award for Fiction, a Dove Award, a Silver
Angel Award, two Audie Awards for best inspirational fiction, has
been a nominee for a Gold Medallion Book of the Year and is an
inductee in the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges Hall of Excellence joining
such luminaries as Coretta Scott King, Hugh Downs, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and
Senator John Glenn. She also serves on the board of directors for National
House of Hope, a residency program that is offered in several states for abused
and at-risk teens.
One of Donna’s great loves is
teaching and speaking. She has appeared at countless events around the country
including keynote addresses at the prestigious Patricia Adams Lecture
Series at Heidelberg University, Women of Faith, Among Friends
Conferences and Extraordinary Women.
Connect with the author at:
St. Martin’s Press is giving one
lucky winner a print copy of
The Christmas Light
(US Only)
