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This adaptation of Glenn Beck's latest Christmas book offers a message about the omnipresent closeness of families.
— Lisa Dugan
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It was a photo of me.
Rachel Price has just one happy memory from her childhood: the moment her father took her hands while playing outside on a cold, snowy day and called her his angel. It was a rare and sacred moment in her young life, one in which she finally felt safe, loved, and protected.
But it didn’t last long.
Years later, Rachel’s daughter is the only light in what has become a dark life. Rachel repeats the patterns she learned as a child and exposes her own daughter to those same destructive behaviors. Consumed by an abusive marriage, but secure in the safety of the familiar, she is too afraid to escape.
Rachel accepts what her life has become, even as she makes excuses for those who keep her in a constant state of despair and regret. But then, an unexpected phone call from an old friend changes everything. Her ordered world is turned upside down as she’s set on a journey that might be her last chance to salvage the life she’d given up on long ago.
While new friendships tentatively blossom, Rachel realizes that everything she once believed may be nothing but lies and misunderstandings. But knowing the truth is not as easy as it seems. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss. As the snow falls and the promise of Christmas redemption nears, Rachel begins to see her entire childhood in a brand-new light and must now decide what her future holds—and what her past really means. Will knowing the truth set her free, or will it condemn her to a life full of regret and “what ifs”?
The Snow Angel is a poignant tale about family, forgiveness, and the freedom to live a future free of the past.
This adaptation of Glenn Beck's latest Christmas book offers a message about the omnipresent closeness of families.
— Lisa Dugan
Nicole Baart was born and raised in a small town in Iowa. She and her husband have three young sons. After the adoption of their infant son, Nicole discovered a deep passion for global issues and co-founded a nonprofit organization, One Body One Hope, that works alongside a church and orphanage in Monrovia, Liberia. Nicole was the coauthor of Glenn Beck's bestselling Christmas novel, The Snow Angel.
Anonymous
Posted October 26, 2011
Absolutely loved this story, am sharing it with all my loved ones this year. I thought it was very moving.
10 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.TRL_
Posted October 26, 2011
Glenn did an excellent job with this book. Please learn about how this book came to be, Glenn has posted the story on his website. This book is not hypocritical, nor is it arrogant, or mean, or shameful, or "propaganda." I encourage everyone to read this book for themselves.
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.CoolerByTheLake
Posted October 26, 2011
I will start by saying that this story is written with such emotion, compassion, and true-to-life feeling that you can't help but feel like you are walking in the shoes of the main characters.
The book tells one story through the eyes of two main characters. It begins with the setting of a nursing home on Christmas Eve. The story from the viewpoint of Alzheimer patient Mitch is like watching the surroundings through his eyes, feeling what he feels. He has broken memories of his past, of his wife whom he "loved and loathed." He waits for someone or something, but he doesn't know for whom or what. At one heart-wrenching moment, he holds a glittery paper snowflake and knows that for a while at least, the little girl in his memory loved him. He struggles with bits of memory of ways that he failed his little girl, realizing that "there are sins of omission as surely as there are sins of commission" and ponders whether if he had held her more and worked less, maybe everything would have been different.
This old man's thoughts are things we can take to heart, lessons we can learn while there is still time. This is so genuinely written that it's hard to believe that the person writing it hasn't experienced what it is like to have Alzheimers, though of course that would be impossible. I came away from reading this part with much more compassion for what an impaired memory patient might be going through.
The second viewpoint is told through the story of an abused woman, Rachel, who appears to have the idyllic life. The story is set in a small town and consists of a time period of about two months leading up to Christmas Eve.
Rachel recounts the emotional and verbal abuse doled out by her alcoholic mother. As she puts it "my childhood was the battleground where my mother chose to fight her personal demons." Her father was a loving man who did not intervene, or as her young daughter Lily said "no one stood between you and the monster under your bed." I felt that this was such a profound statement that would touch home with readers who felt helpless and unprotected as children.
Now Rachel is married to an abusive husband. The story is tense and yet hopeful. You are angry for her and then cheer for her strength and bravery. Rachel's life is turned around with the help, love, and strength of several dear friends who do love her and convince her that she is not weak, ugly, unlovable, and worthless as she has been made to believe she is.
Rachel's daughter is mature beyond her 11 years. I felt that perhaps she was made out to be almost a little too mature in her ability to accept the changes taking place in her life and the burden of taking on such a supportive role. Still she is a loving and likeable character, and I loved the advice she gives her mother when she says "God is my shield...you don't have to be."
Because the story is so honest and real, it will be an emotional read for someone who has experienced this type of childhood or has been an emotionally or physically abused spouse. However, I would not let that keep you from reading this book. It is truly inspirational and encouraging to see the transformation that can take place when a person realizes that they are loved and that they are worthwhile. Rachel asked herself if, now that the door to her prison is open, does she have the courage to fly away. She does!
8 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 1, 2011
You just might cry tears of saddness and tears of joy before you finish this book. It touched my soul with every situation and resolution. It's amazing how kids can mend such brokenness.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 31, 2011
After many negative reviews, I get the feeling that some politics are involved in these reviews. Thanks to them, I am buying this book to see for myself.
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 27, 2011
If this book doesn't touch your soul, you don't have one.
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 30, 2011
How sad that GB haters find the need to post hateful remarks about this book! Clearly people who have nothing better to do with their time than belittle and debase! This book was sweet and full of hope, a perfect christmas book that will give hope to many in similiar situations! God bless you Glenn. You have so many talents.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 26, 2011
I just finished this book and want to thank Glenn Beck and Nicole Baart for this beautiful story. Through tears of sadness and gladness I could relate in many ways and will be telling any and all who will listen to read this book! GOD BLESS!
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted November 3, 2011
Again, Beck doesn't disappoint...This a book that all fathers should give their daughters. Great Christmas gift - with a solid message of there's always hope to reconnect...even when it gets way off in the ditch.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 29, 2011
This booked touched me in so many ways. I once stood in those same shoes. A well written and true to life. Thank you for telling all of our stories even if we are to afraid too.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 11, 2012
*a black shecat with blood red eyes rushes at snowstar, and rakes snowstars pelt* hissss BLOODCLAN LIVES!!!!!!!*she swipes her claws across snowstar muzzle, leaving deep red gashes*
••blood-eye
1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 26, 2011
WARNING! If you come from an abusive family or marriage situation, this book will stir up memories you might prefer to keep buried. That being said, though, it is such an excellent (and I mean EXCELLENT) and well-written tale of the power of love and forgiveness that I hope you will have the courage to read this.
There are many today who feel trapped in abusive relationships with controlling, malevolent, demeaning, violent people. If you are one of those individuals, please read this book. Mr. Beck's portrayal of Rachel as an abused child and then battered wife shows her transformation from a victim to a victor. This book may actually save your life and get you on a road to healing and self-confidence. And it will open your heart up to those around you who are also abused and enslaved.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 24, 2011
Not done reading yet, but so far so good.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted November 24, 2011
The narrative by Glen Beck is a heart rendering story. It is definitely worth reading!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted November 22, 2011
I really like this book. It gave me insight into the confused mind of someone suffering from dementia. It also gave me a sense of what it's like to be a child growing up in a home where love is not evident, and how that led to particular decisions. I didn't like the daughter's attitude near the end, but hurt runs deep.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted November 7, 2011
I started this book and could not put it down. Its not only a story of strength and forgiveness but a reminder that what we see and believe as true may be all wrong. Rachel, in her hurt and anger did not see the sacrifices her father made for her and Mitch, in the grips of Alzheimers, just wants the opportunity to love his daughter again. Im not a crier but i sobbed throughout this book as it hit home the mending that needs to be done within my own family. Glenn has such a gift for writing.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 12, 2012
I enjoyed reading this book very much. I had read Cowards by Glenn Beck and thought I would try one of his novels, and chose this one, a short, 16X some pages, was a quick and sweet read. I am now reading Being George Washington, which I am also enjoying.
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Posted January 25, 2012
haven't finished reading it so only going four star but what i read i have loved. recommend this one to anybody who loves a good read
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Posted January 20, 2012
I absolutely loved this book! It makes you feel so emotional, I cried at the end! His books are so well wrote. I read it in less than a day, couldn't put it down!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 14, 2012
Worried about the hyoe others had put up about this book. I must admit I liked THE CHRISTMAS SWEATER better but this was a fantastic read too.
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Overview
The woman in the picture was so young she looked like a child. Her hair was loose, eyes wide, blue T-shirt stark against the pale lines of arching collarbones. I felt the air leave me in a quiet rush. Not because of the way the photo captured her fleeting youth, but because of the way it highlighted the bruise.
It was a photo of me.
Rachel Price has just one happy memory from her childhood: the moment her father took her hands while playing ...