A Secret Gift by Ted Gup
This is a non-fiction book. A man in 1933 Canton OH submits an ad to the local newspaper. He is going to give away some money to deserving white collar people who have fallen on hard times. He was going to give $10 each, but he ends up doubling the number of people and halving the amount to $5. This is the story of that man, his grandson and the people whose lives he touches.
Ted Gup is the grandson. In this book we learn about his grandfather's life and secrets which have influenced him to give this money away. He knows it's not an answer to the need. He just wanted to raise people's spirits during the Christmas season.
All the answered letters to B. Virdot (a pseudonym to keep everything anonymous and make it easier for people to talk about their troubles) were kept in a suitcase. Gup researches these people and finds their descendents to see what life is like for them now and what it was like for those in the Depression.
It's a fascinating book. It's a little repetitive because Gup quotes so many of the letters and they start to sound the same. I think that's part of the idea though. This book is an easy read but also very interesting because I learned a lot of personal things about the Depression.
The one thing I took exception to was Gup's assumption that his grandfather was the instigator of the money-giving scheme. Gup writes briefly about his grandmother and really makes a case for her influence and work on the project without giving her much credit. That bugged me.
Ted Gup is the grandson. In this book we learn about his grandfather's life and secrets which have influenced him to give this money away. He knows it's not an answer to the need. He just wanted to raise people's spirits during the Christmas season.
All the answered letters to B. Virdot (a pseudonym to keep everything anonymous and make it easier for people to talk about their troubles) were kept in a suitcase. Gup researches these people and finds their descendents to see what life is like for them now and what it was like for those in the Depression.
It's a fascinating book. It's a little repetitive because Gup quotes so many of the letters and they start to sound the same. I think that's part of the idea though. This book is an easy read but also very interesting because I learned a lot of personal things about the Depression.
The one thing I took exception to was Gup's assumption that his grandfather was the instigator of the money-giving scheme. Gup writes briefly about his grandmother and really makes a case for her influence and work on the project without giving her much credit. That bugged me.