The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck
Blurb: We weren’t wealthy, we weren’t poor - we just were. We never wanted for anything, except maybe more time together….
When Eddie was twelve years old, all he wanted for Christmas was a bike. Although his life had gotten harder - and money tighter - since his father died and the family bakery closed…Eddie dreamed that somehow his mother would find a way to have his dream bike gleaming beside their modest Christmas tree that magical morning.
What he got from her instead was a sweater. “A stupid, handmade, ugly sweater” that young Eddie left in a crumpled ball in the corner of his room.
Scarred deeply by the realization that kids don’t always get what they want, and too young to understand that he already owned life’s most valuable treasures, that Christmas morning was the beginning of Eddie’s dark and painful journey on the road to manhood. It will take wrestling with himself, his faith, and his family - and the guidance of a mysterious neighbor named Russell - to help Eddie find his path through the storm clouds of life and finally see real significance of that simple gift his mother had crafted by hand with love in her heart.
Based on a deeply personal true story, The Christmas Sweater is a warm and poignant tale of family, faith and forgiveness that offers us a glimpse of our own lives - while also making us question if we really know what’s most important in them.
So this book was foisted on me by a librarian, as I was circling around the fiction section trying to find something to read. To be honest, I don’t even know who Glenn Beck is, and I don’t really care. It’s… kind of a predictable story. I think I might have enjoyed it more if I already didn’t have a solid foundation and idea of what “unconditional love” is, if I didn’t already have an amazing family that’s showed me that love without the trauma, and if I didn’t already practice it already in all of my relationships, even my religious ones. So I guess I should recommend this book, just because it’s message is really about love, and that’s the kind of message I like. But I didn’t get a lot out of this book… and I’d never read it again.