The One Good ThingEver since seventeen-year-old Ann Bennett was diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition two years ago, her family has been pulling apart. Ann and her two younger siblings fight constantly, as do their parents. When the doctors announce that Ann's only hope of survival is a heart transplant by the end of the summer, the Bennetts decide to wait for news of a donor at a family vacation home on the Oregon coast, near Haystack Rock. But rather than healing their differences, the time away only widens the rifts between them. That is, until they learn about The Winner's Game, a game their great grandparents invented to save their marriage decades ago. It doesn't work immediately, it takes some time to figure out the right way to play, but little by little things start to change. It seems everything might be okay, until the day tragedy strikes, and they are confronted with what it really means to love--and to be a family.
The One Good Thing
For as long as Halley Steen has known her husband Nathan, he has carried a handful of stones in his pocket. Each day he uses those stones to remind him to follow the Golden Rule, moving a stone from one pocket to the other with each act of kindness. So it's not unusual that Nathan stops to help a stranger on the side of the highway while on his way home one Friday evening. But that one act will change all of their lives forever, when a car hydroplanes off the road, killing Nathan instantly.
In the wake of his death, hidden details of Nathan's life begin to emerge, including evidence of a daughter whom Halley and the kids knew nothing about. And none of them have ever heard of Madeline Zuckerman, the girl's mother, who claims on Facebook that Nathan saved her life. As the family becomes bitter, only thirteen-year-old Alice maintains unwavering faith in her father. She knows there's an explanation. When she sets out to find Madeline and learn the truth, she will start to unravel the complex story of The One Good Thing Nathan Steen did that had the greatest impact of all. |
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Sweet Misfortune
Sophie Jones has had more than her share of misfortune. Orphaned at a young age by a fatal car accident, her life has been the definition of tragedy, and every time she tries to move forward, her past drags her back. Her one consolation is discovering she's not alone when she whips up a batch of Misfortune Cookies that become a surprise hit with customers at her chocolate shop. Dipped in bitter chocolate, people delight in Sophie's unique handwritten fortunes far more than the unpalatable taste, even if reading, "Is it love or pity? Try not to dwell on it." isn't exactly the kind of thing to lift one's spirits.It's not that Sophie is depressed, she's just a realist, and her luck seems true to rotten form when Garrett Black walks into her shop as a birthday surprise. He broke off their engagement with no explanation and disappeared. Now he wants to explain, but Sophie's far too wise to open herself up to him again. When he reacts with surprise and dismay to her Misfortune Cookies, Sophie sees the perfect opportunity to dodge the conversation.She proposes Garrett take out a want ad in the local paper seeking sustainable happiness. When he gets a hundred responses she deems acceptable, she'll go out on one last date and hear him out. Sophie knows he has no chance of winning, but fate may have other ideas.
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The Nine Lessons
August Witte is firmly against having children. But after seven years of marriage, his wife is delighted when she realizes she is unexpectedly pregnant. August is terrified, recognizing he never learned the first thing about being a good parent from his father London. A widower since August was a toddler, London has always valued the game of golf--a sport August has never had any talent for--more than his son. In spite of how he hates the game, when August confronts his father, he finds himself agreeing to meet each month of
the pregnancy for a round of golf. In exchange, London will give him the only thing that could make August agree to pick up a club again--memories of his mother, which he has written on golf scorecards since the day he met her. But August quickly realizes that his father's motive is not to teach him about golf, but to teach him about life--and he may discover that the old man just might know something about it worth sharing. |
The Paper Bag Christmas
Dr. Christopher Ringle is the last person you'd expect to find moonlighting as Santa Claus at the mall on the day after Thanksgiving. But it is there that he meets a young man named Molar Alan, who desperately needs a new perspective on the underlying value of Christmas. Dr. Ringle recruits Mo and his older brother as volunteers at a nearby children's hospital for the holiday season. At the hospital, Mo is tasked to help bring holiday cheer to the young cancer patients on the fifth floor. His biggest challenge is befriending a decidedly angry girl who is so embarrassed by her scarred appearance that she hides her face behind the safety of a paper bag. Almost in spite of himself, Mo finds that Christmas joy emanates from a source far greater than the North Pole, while the young girl learns that she is more beautiful than she had ever imagined.
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