Remembering Christmas by Dan Walsh

Remembering Christmas

Published by Revell

Available Now

Rick Denton hasn’t had an easy life. His dad left Rick and his mom when he was just twelve years old. His mom found the love of her life but Rick never cared for his stepfather and put up walls so he and the man never were close. Rick makes a life for himself away from them and does the minimum family stuff required to stay in touch.

Then his stepfather suffers a stroke and his mom reaches out to Rick for help. They own a small Christian book store and holiday shopping helps the store stay open all year long. She can’t afford to close the store. They have a woman that works part time, but she begs Rick to please come watch the store just for a few days. He agrees to come but soon realizes that he will be staying much longer than a few days. There’s a homeless guy hanging around outside the store, the business set-up is a mess and the customers are just plain weird, plus his stepfather is in much worse shape than he originally thought.

But within a short period of time the woman that works part-time, the weird customers, and even the homeless man start to have a good effect on Rick. He starts to learn the true meaning of Christmas and a lot about himself. Maybe this family stuff isn’t so bad.

Dollycas’s Thoughts
Set in the 1980’s this story is a little step back in time, before everyone was lost texting on their cell phones and becoming addicting to social media. People actually had to talk face to face, share stories with each other, communicate on a personal level. It is a wonderful story of a family coming together at a time of need and realizing they need to be involved in each others lives more than on holidays and a few telephone calls a year.

The story has a wonderful message without being preachy. It is heartwarming and enlightening. A little twist brought a tear to my eye. I think it would make a great Hallmark holiday movie. This is my first experience with this author but it won’t be my last. I love the way this guy writes!!

This was a book from my personal collection.