A heartfelt and poignant new novel that explores the themes of sacrifice and selfishness, betrayal and forgiveness, love and loss, redemption not through reparation, but through grace.
Simon & Schuster
October 2009
On Sale: October 6, 2009
368 pages ISBN: 1439150001 EAN: 9781439150009 Hardcover Add to Wish List
When I was in seventh grade, my English teacher, Mrs.
Johnson, gave our class the intriguing (if somewhat macabre)
assignment of writing our own obituaries. Oddly, I don't
remember much of what I wrote about my life, but I do
remember how I died: in first place on the final lap of the
Daytona 500. At the time, I hadn't considered writing as an
occupation, a field with a remarkably low on-the-job
casualty rate.
What intrigues me most about Mrs. Johnson's assignment is
the opportunity she gave us to confront our own legacy. How
do we want to be remembered? That question has motivated our
species since the beginning of time: from building pyramids
to putting our names on skyscrapers.
As I began to write this book, I had two objectives: First,
I wanted to explore what could happen if someone read their
obituary before they died and saw, firsthand, what the world
really thought of them. Their legacy.
Second, I wanted to write a Christmas story of true
redemption. One of my family's holiday traditions is to see
a local production of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. I
don't know how many times I've seen it (perhaps a dozen),
but it still thrills me to see the change that comes over
Ebenezer Scrooge as he transforms from a dull, tight-fisted
miser into a penitent, "giddy-as-aschoolboy" man with love
in his heart. I always leave the show with a smile on my
face and a resolve to be a better person. That's what I
wanted to share with you, my dear readers, this Christmas --
a holiday tale to warm your season, your homes, and your hearts.
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