The Wondrous Gift: A Christmas Story

by Daisy Newman

Connie returns home from her first semester at college confused about her budding relationship with Sid and not sure how she fits back in to the family circle. On her trip to bring back her grandfather for Christmas, she is snowed in at his little home, and his awareness of her confusion and his serenity based on his Quaker faith help her see her way through her worries.

32 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1982

About the author

Daisy Newman, a novelist and Quaker historian, was born in Southport, England, of American parents. She attended Radcliffe College, Barnard College and Oxford University. An active member of the Friends Meeting in Cambridge, Mass., she frequently wrote about Quaker life and history.

She was the author of many novels, including "Now That April's Here," "Diligence in Love," "The Autumn's Brightness" and "I Take Thee, Serenity." She also wrote a history of American Quakers, "A Procession of Friends." She died in 1994.

Reviews

[Jobiska (Cindy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

When read 30+ years after publication, Connie's worries and the coyness about what her issues are with Sid (presumably, she slept with him and now worries that she did it too quickly, or that's all he was interested in, or she did it for the wrong reasons) seem rather quaint, yet the underlying concerns about identity and life changes are sound. If, like me, one was a frequent re-reader of "I Take Thee, Serenity," Connie and her grandfather come across as Serenity and Oliver Lite, but that's okay too. It's still nice to read something else from Newman, and of course I'm always keen on stuff that discusses aspects of Quakerism in everyday life.