My Gift to You

by Lori Nawyn

Trish Ingram has been working hard to be the perfect wife, the perfect mother, while all the while feeling inferior, that she's not worth anything. Her husband, Paul, and her nineteen year old daughter, Sienna, feel distanced from her and leave her. When Trish arrives home to find Paul gone, a mysterious envelope under the Christmas tree, she then takes a drive to a cemetery to find closure to her demons she's had for years. When both Paul and Sienna find Trish missing, they both believe she has "disappeared." When Paul sends a bunch of his biker buddies out in search for Sienna, Paul fears the worst, but Sienna just gets caught in a blizzard and attempts to stay awake until help arrives. Trish is devastated when her sister-in-law dies from Cancer, but the gift she gives to Trish before she dies, is a life-changing moment and she begins by volunteering at a place for troubled teens. When a young teen girl she has been working with leaves a note, it sends everyone to searching for her. With the devastation of her husband and daughter leaving her, she is faced with the challenge to have faith to move forward. And to realize she is loved for who she is, that she doesn't need to pretend to be who she isn't.

183 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

As a kid, I was the class clown, out to get a laugh or some attention any way I could. I was labeled as obnoxious because I never knew when to sit still and when to listen. Teachers dreaded me!

In fifth grade, I wrote my first "book" — a story about myself and and my arch nemesis — and read it aloud to my class. The positive feedback I received helped me see myself and others in a different way. I realized I wanted to grow up to be an author and an illustrator.

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? (ThoughtsAlive, 2010) and LOVE, HUGS, AND HOPE: WHEN SCARY THINGS HAPPEN (Familius, 2013) are two of the picture books I've illustrated. I also design products for creative play and license my art.

Visit me on my website (www.lorinawyn.com) or follow me on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLoriNawyn), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lifedancest...), or Twitter (@LoriNawyn).

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a powerful message of the importance of unconditionally loving others and ourselves. Trish appears to have the perfect life but appearances can be deceiving. This book slowly revealed secrets of Trish's past that she had kept hidden from everyone including her husband and daughter.
See full review:
http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot....

[Dorry Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good story, but it jumped around too much for me. I lost track of who some people were and where some events fell into the story.

[Ranee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A touching story set in an area familiar to my family. One star off for some jumping around that had me lost a little.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Gift To You by Lori Nawyn
Before I started reading Lori's debut novel, just by reading the back liner notes, I couldn't really tell what the novel was about or if it was a Christmas novel or not. I was in for a big surprise, as this is a great debut and is a Christmas novel as well.

Trish Ingram has been working hard to be the perfect wife, the perfect mother, while all the while feeling inferior, that she's not worth anything. Her husband, Paul, and her nineteen year old daughter, Sienna, feel distanced from her and leave her.
When Trish arrives home to find Paul gone, a mysterious envelope under the Christmas tree, she then takes a drive to a cemetery to find closure to her demons she's had for years. When both Paul and Sienna find Trish missing, they both believe she has "disappeared." When Paul sends a bunch of his biker buddies out in search for Sienna, Paul fears the worst, but Sienna just gets caught in a blizzard and attempts to stay awake until help arrives.
Trish is devastated when her sister-in-law dies from Cancer, but the gift she gives to Trish before she dies, is a life-changing moment and she begins by volunteering at a place for troubled teens. When a young teen girl she has been working with leaves a note, it sends everyone to searching for her.
With the devastation of her husband and daughter leaving her, she is faced with the challenge to have faith to move forward. And to realize she is loved for who she is, that she doesn't need to pretend to be who she isn't.
I highly recommend this debut novel, especially around the Christmas holidays.
I received this review copy from Lori.

Published by: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Date Published: October 2010
ISBN: 978-1-60861-101-0
185pp

[Norma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was truly a wonderful book. At first, I really didn’t like Trish at all because of the way she treated people. Then I realized that in a way, we are all Trishs.

One of the greatest lessons in this book is being able to give “the gift” to yourself and to others. I think in our hurried lives we forget to stop and be thankful for what we do have in our lives. It is important to love and forgive ourselves and those around us.

Trish’s sister-in-law Jamie taught her just how to do that. But is it too late for her to save her marriage? Can she reconcile with her daughter?

This book gives you hope for the future. Even though it is a fictional story, it helps to see that there is a way to change your own life.

One thing that stuck in my mind was when Trish was talking to Brent and explained to him that we need to be kind to everyone who we encounter because we don’t know what they are going through in life.

I would have read this in one sitting, but I had other things going on at the time. So this is a definite recommendation to read this. I promise you will love it too.

[Renae Mackley · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

['becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice "first novel". It was a birthday gift to me, and couldn't have been more perfect. I've been learning a lot about fear and love lately.

"She wanted, more than she could admit to herself, to run into her aunt's embrace. But, certainly, if not right now, then in the next few minutes, she'd mess up. She'd do or say something to show how stupid she really was. Then, like all the other people . . ."

Man, I have SO felt like that. I am still afraid to feel close to people (with a few exceptions) for fear that I'll screw up, and I couldn't bear them not wanting me around.

I haven't had the traumas that this book's characters experienced in their early lives, so I can't explain what my problem is. For whatever reason, I haven't often felt "good enough", and I:

#1 - hope I never give anyone (especially my children) reason to feel the same

and

#2 - hope I can succeed in letting go of fear and giving freely of "the gift" and, by the same token, not being afraid to receive it, and live with it, myself.

[Lila · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was wanting a nice little Christmas story, but this was filled with so many characters and soap-opera-like lives that I had a hard time enjoying it. Even in the last chapter, the author was introducing more characters and restating who all of them were. There were also lots of incomplete sentences which really annoy me in a published book. Even if this was her first book, an editor should catch such glaring mistakes.

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the different points of view. I think as we go through life we realize that there are things from our childhood that we should let go of and people come into our life to help us grow and learn. Lori has brought many thoughts from different perpectives that can help us realize who we are and what we're worth in the eyes of God, if we will just listen with our hearts a little more and not our minds. Thanks Lori!!

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a good message to it, but it was pretty depressing the whole way through. No one could ever get ahold of each other, there were misunderstandings right and left, and there was just constant sadness. If I were the main character, I think I would've gone insane. It was a lot to take in for such a short book. It did keep me riveted, but I would have appreciated a little more happiness in the story. The ending was good, of course, but the rest of the book was a little rough.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about a woman who has kept her past secret from her husband and daughter, and, because of her past, has become a cold, calculating, keep-up-with-the-Jones type of person. She has to prove she is as good or better than everyone else. It was kind of a depressing book, and I had a hard time keeping all of the characters straight. But it has a good moral and teaches the value of love.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the plot. It had conflict/resolve more conflict. However I thought the general story was a bit confusing. I think the author could have made the book a little longer and tidy up a few stray ends.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book. It had a very good message in that the greatest gift anyone can give another person is love.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book with a few twists and turns to keep you guessing. Well done.

[Lacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring. Did not keep me hooked at all.

[Spring Clark · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books I've ever read! A character driven novel about a lady who hides behind her past that wasn't all that horrible. Not worth reading!!!

[Ann Topham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could not put this book down. I read it all in one day. Sad story, but a good lesson to learn for each of us.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Family drama.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is a bitter-sweet one.