Scan barcode
tomaind's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it just as much as I loved "The Christmas Sweater". A great story for the holidays that makes you see that it is never too late to change things in your life. I hope Glenn Beck writes more books centered around the Christmas Season.
debs_shelves's review against another edition
4.0
Nice little Christmas story! Gotta love a happy ending.
fijumanka0311's review against another edition
3.0
„Život je putovanje, Rachel. Dok hodaš, možeš se ili osvrtati ili gledati ispred sebe. Uvijek misli na sljedeći korak.“
Na Rachel je izbor što od ovoga učiniti na svom putovanju. Nakon psihičkog zlostavljanja majke alkoholičarke, pasivnog oca koji ništa ne poduzima i bježi od istine, slijedi udaja za čovjeka, koji psihičkom zlostavljanju pridoda i ono fizičko. Gdje su granice gdje to prestaje? Izbor je na samim osobama, žrtvama u cijeloj toj priči.
Ne osuđujem, čak se nisam ni ljutila previše, nisam srećom bila u takvim životnim situacijama da znam kako bih sama postupila. Samo sam čitala i čekala da vidim kad će (i hoće li) nastupiti to osviještenje, nakon kojeg moraš odlučiti i uzeti stvar u svoje ruke, prestati izigravati žrtvu i krenuti živjeti punim plućima. Zlostavljači su „fantastične“ osobe koje tako vješto znaju onoj drugoj strani nametnuti krivnju i grižnju savjesti, manipulatori po rođenju.
Zapravo se kod ovakvih tema uvijek iznova pitam: zašto se takve osobe pokaju tek pred kraj života, kad su slomljeni duhom, nerijetko teško bolesni. Tada svi traže oprost i božju milost. Zar misle da će oprost i kazna od nekoliko Očenaša i Zdravomarija poništiti sve ružno što su činili tijekom života, bilo aktivno ili pasivno, i široko im otvoriti put do Raja. Tužno, a izgleda tako jednostavno.
A oni s druge strane, koji godinama ne poduzimaju ništa, odjednom progledaju pa ti dođe da im zaplješćeš, jer u protivnom bi samo mogao zaključiti da su sve to i zaslužili. A nije tako.
Na kraju zapravo ne znam što bih rekla o samom romanu, tema je teška, a što je više priča išla kraju, na tren čak i patetična. Od mene trojka, ali samo zato što sam ipak uspjela u tome vidjeti natruhu ljubavi i privrženosti prema bližnjemu, a ovakve me priče na kraju ostave tužnog srca i gorkog okusa, bez obzira imale sretan kraj ili ne.
Na Rachel je izbor što od ovoga učiniti na svom putovanju. Nakon psihičkog zlostavljanja majke alkoholičarke, pasivnog oca koji ništa ne poduzima i bježi od istine, slijedi udaja za čovjeka, koji psihičkom zlostavljanju pridoda i ono fizičko. Gdje su granice gdje to prestaje? Izbor je na samim osobama, žrtvama u cijeloj toj priči.
Ne osuđujem, čak se nisam ni ljutila previše, nisam srećom bila u takvim životnim situacijama da znam kako bih sama postupila. Samo sam čitala i čekala da vidim kad će (i hoće li) nastupiti to osviještenje, nakon kojeg moraš odlučiti i uzeti stvar u svoje ruke, prestati izigravati žrtvu i krenuti živjeti punim plućima. Zlostavljači su „fantastične“ osobe koje tako vješto znaju onoj drugoj strani nametnuti krivnju i grižnju savjesti, manipulatori po rođenju.
Zapravo se kod ovakvih tema uvijek iznova pitam: zašto se takve osobe pokaju tek pred kraj života, kad su slomljeni duhom, nerijetko teško bolesni. Tada svi traže oprost i božju milost. Zar misle da će oprost i kazna od nekoliko Očenaša i Zdravomarija poništiti sve ružno što su činili tijekom života, bilo aktivno ili pasivno, i široko im otvoriti put do Raja. Tužno, a izgleda tako jednostavno.
A oni s druge strane, koji godinama ne poduzimaju ništa, odjednom progledaju pa ti dođe da im zaplješćeš, jer u protivnom bi samo mogao zaključiti da su sve to i zaslužili. A nije tako.
Na kraju zapravo ne znam što bih rekla o samom romanu, tema je teška, a što je više priča išla kraju, na tren čak i patetična. Od mene trojka, ali samo zato što sam ipak uspjela u tome vidjeti natruhu ljubavi i privrženosti prema bližnjemu, a ovakve me priče na kraju ostave tužnog srca i gorkog okusa, bez obzira imale sretan kraj ili ne.
ncrabb's review against another edition
3.0
Rachel Clark grew up with a dad who loved his wife despite some serious flaws and behaviors. Rachel’s mom treated her like trash. The little girl was anything but pretty according to Mom. Naturally, Mom was lying, but young Rachel heard only what she heard. “You’re ugly; you’re worthless; you’re stupid.” Mitch Clark was intent on just keeping his economic head above water. His work consumed his life and energy so much that he had neither the strength nor the will to combat the abuse his wife nonchalantly doled out on young Rachel. There was one magical exception to Mitch Clark’s apathy and exhaustion. There was one winter night when little Rachel Clark got to make snow angels with her dad. So perfect were the snow angels that Dad would carefully lift her up off the snow when one was completed so there would be no footprints near it. That one crystalline night, Rachel and Mitch crafted a veritable heavenly host of snow angels. Years later, when Rachel’s alcoholic mom wrapped her car around a tree as a result of one of her drunken stupors, Rachel is horrified to realize that she feels a certain amount of relief in the knowledge that her mother is dead. But all those years of Dad’s inaction have taken their toll on that relationship, too.
A few days after the funeral, she is walking near her home when an elderly man calls out to her. Max Wever operates a local tailor shop with his wife, Elena. Max offers teenaged Rachel a job, and she becomes a skilled seamstress in her own right.
Rachel met football star Cyrus Price at a school dance. He flattered her—told her she was beautiful and talented. No boy had ever done that. Max, Elena, and even Rachel’s dad, Mitch, saw Cyrus Price for what he was—a manipulative controlling young man who would lure Rachel into a relationship that almost certainly wouldn’t end well.
The two marry, and Lily is a mirror image of her mother when her mom was little. Cyrus Clark is clever enough to keep the abuse away from his daughter, and Rachel is willing to do whatever is necessary to stand between his physical and verbal abuse and the little girl.
This is a horrifying story of bruised faces, a broken wrist, and an insidious grinding down of a once-effervescent woman into an almost-drudge automaton who would be the glamorous wife in public and the punching bag back at the house.
When Cyrus leaves town for a week, Rachel gets an opportunity to be reunited with Max who had employed her years earlier. Max and Lily are introduced, and while the three work together on a project, the truth of Rachel’s abuse is revealed to young Lily.
But what of Mitch Clark? He, too, yearns for truth to be revealed. A stroke morphed into full-blown Alzheimer’s, and unbeknownst to Rachel, Mitch is in a care facility not far from her home.
The final scenes of this book are memorable indeed. The Alzheimer’s plays an integral part in the story, interestingly enough. There’s much more to this book than abuse and isolation. But nor is there an unrealistic happy ending. There is much here that speaks to second chances and the ability to discover new horizons and reach for new and clearer vistas. It is, in short, a Christmas story in so many ways.
Glenn Beck comes by whatever expertise is reflected in this story honestly. His alcoholic mother took her life when Glenn was young, and for a significant part of his life, he, too, was an alcoholic. Today, he worries out loud frequently about finding the balance between his work life and raising his adopted adolescent son.
A few days after the funeral, she is walking near her home when an elderly man calls out to her. Max Wever operates a local tailor shop with his wife, Elena. Max offers teenaged Rachel a job, and she becomes a skilled seamstress in her own right.
Rachel met football star Cyrus Price at a school dance. He flattered her—told her she was beautiful and talented. No boy had ever done that. Max, Elena, and even Rachel’s dad, Mitch, saw Cyrus Price for what he was—a manipulative controlling young man who would lure Rachel into a relationship that almost certainly wouldn’t end well.
The two marry, and Lily is a mirror image of her mother when her mom was little. Cyrus Clark is clever enough to keep the abuse away from his daughter, and Rachel is willing to do whatever is necessary to stand between his physical and verbal abuse and the little girl.
This is a horrifying story of bruised faces, a broken wrist, and an insidious grinding down of a once-effervescent woman into an almost-drudge automaton who would be the glamorous wife in public and the punching bag back at the house.
When Cyrus leaves town for a week, Rachel gets an opportunity to be reunited with Max who had employed her years earlier. Max and Lily are introduced, and while the three work together on a project, the truth of Rachel’s abuse is revealed to young Lily.
But what of Mitch Clark? He, too, yearns for truth to be revealed. A stroke morphed into full-blown Alzheimer’s, and unbeknownst to Rachel, Mitch is in a care facility not far from her home.
The final scenes of this book are memorable indeed. The Alzheimer’s plays an integral part in the story, interestingly enough. There’s much more to this book than abuse and isolation. But nor is there an unrealistic happy ending. There is much here that speaks to second chances and the ability to discover new horizons and reach for new and clearer vistas. It is, in short, a Christmas story in so many ways.
Glenn Beck comes by whatever expertise is reflected in this story honestly. His alcoholic mother took her life when Glenn was young, and for a significant part of his life, he, too, was an alcoholic. Today, he worries out loud frequently about finding the balance between his work life and raising his adopted adolescent son.
booksarethenewblack's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! It is a story about a wife who is beaten by her husband. It is about how she struggles with freeing herself from him but keeping her daughter safe from what is going on at home. She ends up re-connecting with old family and finding out how strong she really is and making some life changes. The whole time you are just rooting for this girl to get away from her husband and hope she does so in the end. It is such a beautiful story of how she connects with her daughter and family. It is such a sweet book and very uplifting.
lorihenrich2021's review against another edition
5.0
Rachel Price doesn't have many happy memories from her childhood. Her mother drank, and her father worked a lot to provide for his family. Her mother called her names made her feel small and unloved. Max and Elena, neighbors, offer young Rachel a job help them in the taylor shop they set up in their home. She spends many happy hours help them, escaping from the pain her mother inflicts with her words.
With her past history is it any wonder that Rachel meets and falls in love with a man that turns out to be as cruel and heartless as her mom. But now she has her daughter Lilly to think about. She tries so hard to make sure that Lilly is sheltered from the way her father truly is. Then a phone call from Max, whom Rachel hasn't seen since she married Cyrus, starts a chain of events that could change Rachel and Lilly's life forever.
Glenn Beck weaves a very good tale. Much different than The Christmas Sweater, but just as masterful told. Excellent holiday book!
With her past history is it any wonder that Rachel meets and falls in love with a man that turns out to be as cruel and heartless as her mom. But now she has her daughter Lilly to think about. She tries so hard to make sure that Lilly is sheltered from the way her father truly is. Then a phone call from Max, whom Rachel hasn't seen since she married Cyrus, starts a chain of events that could change Rachel and Lilly's life forever.
Glenn Beck weaves a very good tale. Much different than The Christmas Sweater, but just as masterful told. Excellent holiday book!