What if you believed you didn't deserve to be happy?
What if you were wrong?
Trish Ingram works hard to maintain the perfect suburban household—or, at least, the appearance of one. By managing her outer world with lavish attention and rigid control, she’s able to ignore and conceal the darkness of her inner world, which is plagued by traumatic childhood memories of loss. Her terminally ill sister-in-law, Jamie, sees through the façade and reaches out in love to Trish, inspiring her to seek a more meaningful life and a more authentic self. But the childhood scars run deep, and despite Trish’s best efforts, she’s unable to be the wife and mother her family needs.
Devastated by the departure of her husband and daughter, Trish faces the challenge and opportunity of a lifetime. She desires to move forward in faith, but this desire alone cannot mend her family's shattered trust. The hollow realm of denial and fear has been her safe haven. To confront pain and transcend the shadows of her past will require a level of courage she’s not sure she possesses. This gripping story of familial love and conflict tenderly reminds us that forgiveness—of self, and others—is both a difficult choice and a precious gift.
Professional Reviews
Jennie Hansen
My Gift to You by Lori Nawyn is a quiet little book with a big message. It is the story of a woman, Trish Ingram, who feels a compulsion to be perfect and to be admired for the way she dresses, her beautiful, well cared for home, the charities she supports, and the perfect facade she presents to the world. For all her efforts, she never feels she is good enough or that she measures up to the lofty standard she has set for herself.
Trish is shocked by a visit from her sister-in-law who is dying from cancer and her first thought is for what the neighbors might think to see such a ravaged and disreputable looking person on her doorstep and her battered car parked in her drive. The visit doesn't begin well; she has never felt a warm friendship for her sister-in-law or for her alcoholic brother-in-law, but the sister-in-law gives her a gift that begins to change Trish for the better. However, twenty years of hiding a secret from her husband and daughter is not something that can be changed on a whim.
As Trish struggles to become a better person and work her way toward a point where she can share her past with those she loves, a year passes, her daughter moves out and severs relations with her, and her husband gives up on the marriage as well. Devastated, and thrust into a position where she must learn more of her past in order to save her present, she moves beyond the basic story of being abandoned by her unmarried mother at the scene of her mother's suicide. She was raised by an aunt and uncle who led her to believe she was their child until a classmate taunted her with the truth. Her feelings for her adopted family changed and she's never quite forgiven them for their lie.
Her sister-in-law's gift puts her on a road to change, but all the changes she makes in herself in the following year are not enough. She has failed to communicate her change of heart to her family. To move forward requires tremendous faith and courage which she is not sure she is up to, but she must try. A raging winter blizzard adds another level of stress to Trish and her family as they each battle both the winter storm and secret storms raging in their hearts.
Trish is the most finely developed character in the book and much of the story is based on her growth. She is a character readers can identify with, at least in part. I would have liked to see her husband's character developed a little better. It was a little hard to feel much sympathy for a man who was seldom home and who basically
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sneaked out when he left her. I particularly liked the eight-year-old niece of Trish's husband, a child with a stubborn streak who found her own way to survive and who plays her own important role in the story. The plot is absorbing, but sometimes a little confusing with so many generations and relationships pertinent to Trish's problems. There is enough action to make a reader want to read the book from start to finish in one sitting. There was a disappointing number of typos and copy errors, more than is usually seen in books coming from this publisher.
Overall, reading My Gift To You, was a satisfying experience. I'm not sure if it was because I've read several violent and disturbing books recently and needed a soothing break or simply that I found a calm, peaceful message of hope, faith, and gratitude in the book that felt right for beginning the holiday season. I can see this book becoming a popular gift for the holidays.
My Gift to You is Lori Nawyn's first novel, though she has had numerous short stories and articles published. She is perhaps better known as an illustrator than a writer.
Renee Mackley
The title and premise of this somewhat short, inspirational novel gave the impression of a predictable, feel-good story, but author Lori Nawyn throws in a few curve balls along the way. Pleasantly, it's not the exact book I thought it would be. She started with enough scattered information about several character relationships to pull me in to want to find out more. Unexpected and interesting events are added along the way.
Even though I am certain of the outcome, it's the journey that matters. In the end, Nawyn wraps things up with the expected result but a different emphasis than I figured. The ending was satisfying.
The Christmas element of the story is not so strong as to only want to read this story at Christmastime, yet it could be considered a Christmas story if you are looking for one. I thought the amount was just right. I also enjoy Nawyn's succinct writing. She packs visual images, emotion, and a hook into short scenes. A great read by the fireplace on a cold, winter's day.
GLIMPSE OF AN ANGEL IS NOW AVAILABLE. A PORTION OF ALL SALES WILL GO TO HOSPICE TO THUS ENABLE THEM TO HELP OTHERS WHO ARE SOON TO PASS TO THE OTHER SIDE. NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
