Cutter, My Christmas Gift
Michael Smith
- Every
- year
- tens
- of
- thousands
- of
- people
- face
- their
- first
- Christmas
- following
- the
- death
- of
- a
- parent.
- While
- a
- luck
- few
- have
- no
- regrets
- about
- their
- choices
- and
- actions,
- many,
- like
- Peter
- Donnelly,
- are
- filled
- with
- self-reproach
- and
- sadness.Christmas
- was
- held
- sacred
- by
- his
- mother,
- who
- celebrated
- her
- love
- of
- the
- holiday
- with
- stories
- of
- Christmases
- past.
- Peter
- dismissed
- the
- importance
- of
- Christmas
- and
- his
- mother’s
- stories
- and
- hasn’t
- been
- home
- for
- Christmas
- for
- over
- 30
- years.
- Haunted
- by
- guilt,
- regret
- and
- the
- memories
- of
- his
- mother,
- Peter—now
- a
- father
- and
- grandfather
- himself—is
- tasked
- with
- carrying
- out
- his
- mother’s
- last
- wish:
- to
- hold
- a
- Christmas
- party
- in
- her
- old
- house
- one
- last
- time
- before
- it’s
- sold.Through
- a
- series
- of
- magical
- encounters,
- he
- finds
- himself
- living
- out
- the
- Christmas
- stories
- he
- heard
- so
- many
- times
- as
- a
- boy.
- Peter
- comes
- to
- realize
- how
- fortunate
- he
- is
- to
- discover
- the
- true
- meaning
- of
- Christmas—that
- his
- mother
- lives
- on
- through
- the
- stories
- and
- special
- memories
- that
- he
- was
- privileged
- to
- share.
- An
- upbeat,
- whimsical
- tale
- of
- heartfelt
- nostalgia
- in
- the
- same
- vane
- as
- Dickens’
- A
- Christmas
- Carol
- and
- Evans’
- The
- Christmas
- Box
- (Simon
- &
- Schuster—12,000,000
- copies
- sold),
- Cutter,
- My
- Christmas
- Gift
- is
- the
- story
- of
- one
- man’s
- journey
- of
- transformation
- and acceptance.
