"With God's Grace Our Worst Past
Becomes Our Best Future"
Becomes Our Best Future"
SYNOPSIS
“Christmas is a time for miracles,” Ryan McDougal tells his mother, when he is told that a long lost cousin, Millie, has resurfaced after nearly forty years, the cousin whose picture his mother clasped the day his father abandoned him. Though they occurred decades apart, he always believed the two disappearances were connected like opposite links of a chain. With Millie’s arrival, perhaps he might finally receive the answers he so desperately sought. However, Ryan has a third thorn in his side, more devastating than any mystery. His wife, the love of his life, has left his arms and his bed. How long before she moves out of the house and takes his beloved son with her? He prays for his own Christmas miracle. Millie’s anticipated visit prompts Ryan’s mother to reveal secrets that bring all to light. However, when past and present collide, the truth is more than Ryan can bear.
READER COMMENTS
This book shows how secrets tear us apart as well as those around us. I loved how the story went from the present, visited the past, and then came back to the present to give you a moment to digest how that part of the past affected the present. It shows how what we perceive may not be the actual truth. This is a compelling read for all of us that hurt and need to forgive others. Highly recommended for all!
Miracle on Maple Street was a good read. I appreciated the format of the stories because they gave foundation to the story's plot and impending conclusion. Even though the story has a Christmas setting, it is not a conventional Christmas story. It is an anytime read.
Although a fictional story, "Miracle on Maple Street" deals with life's gritty side. Because of the topics, this reviewer found it to be a difficult book to read, but one that kept me flipping pages way past my bedtime. A very well-written novel, the plots and subplots reveal a side to life many of us would rather ignore, but nevertheless, is quite common if the truth were told. Each chapter delves deeply into the psyches of the main characters and gives a different perspective of the events leading to a very satisfactory conclusion. I heartily recommend "Miracle on Maple Street" for readers beyond the early teenage years. A word of caution, some may find the topics in this novel too grim for the sensitive or tender reader, nevertheless, it's a very good book.
