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Overview
A young woman, who has been adopted as a child by a loving family, has only a Christmas ornament inscribed with the word “Noel” as a keepsake of her birth family, about whom she remembers nothing. When long hidden memories resurface, she begins an emotionally challenging personal journey as she searches for her biological sister and clues about her mysterious past...
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780743298339 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date: | 10/03/2006 |
| Sold by: | SIMON & SCHUSTER |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 320 |
| Sales rank: | 127,526 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Hometown:
Salt Lake City, UtahDate of Birth:
October 11, 1962Place of Birth:
Salt Lake City, UtahEducation:
B.A., University of Utah, 1984Read an Excerpt
Finding Noel
A NovelBy Richard Paul Evans
Simon & Schuster
Copyright © 2006 Richard Paul EvansAll right reserved.
ISBN: 0743287037
Chapter One
Begin at the start, end at the end.
It's the best advice I could give a friend.
* SONG LYRICS FROM MARK SMART'S DIARY *
When I was a boy, my mother told me that everyone comes into our lives for a reason. I'm not sure if I believe that's true. The thought of God weaving millions of lives together into a grand human tapestry seems a bit fatalistic to me. Still, as I look back at my life, there seem to be times when such divinity is apparent. None is more obvious to me than that winter evening when I met a beautiful young woman named Macy and there ensued the extraordinary chain of events that encounter set in place.
Of course such a theory carried to the extreme would mean that God sabotaged my car that night because, had my car's timing belt not broken at that precise moment, this story never would have happened. But it did, and my life was forever changed. Perhaps my mother was right. If God can align the planets, maybe He can do the same to our lives.
My story began at a time when it was dangerously close to ending -- a wintry Novemberevening, eleven days after my mother died. My mother was killed in a car accident. There were three other people with her in the car, and everyone but my mother walked away unharmed. I was close to my mother, and the day I learned she died was the worst day of my life.
Even before her death my life was in shambles. I had left my home in Huntsville, Alabama, nine months earlier and come to Salt Lake City to attend the University of Utah on an engineering scholarship. I had never been out West, and all I knew of Utah (other than that it had the only out-of-state school willing to give me a scholarship) was that it was a long way from Huntsville, with a few mountain ranges in between. This suited me because I wanted to put as many miles between my father and me as I could.
Actually, I never really called Stuart Smart "Father." He had always been "Stu" to me, and I considered his full name an oxymoron. He was an auto mechanic with an eighth-grade education, grease under his fingernails, and a disdain for all things he didn't understand -- which included English grammar and me.
His dream was for me to one day take over the family business -- Smart Auto Repair -- and every Saturday after I turned ten, he'd drag me down to the garage and put me to work. While my friends were hanging around the Tastee-Freez or hunting grasshoppers with BB guns, I spent my childhood changing tires and air filters.
I hated everything about the garage; from the boredom of watching Stu dissect a transmission to eating bologna and mustard sandwiches on bread smudged with motor oil. But most of all I didn't like being with Stu. He wasn't one for idle conversation, so the long days were mostly silent except for the occasional whine of a pneumatic wrench and the constant twang of a country radio station. I wasn't much good as a mechanic and Stu always seemed annoyed with my ineptness. Every week I begged my mother to not make me go, and one Saturday, around the time I turned fourteen, Stu finally gave up on me and left me home.
If love isn't blind it's at least horribly nearsighted.
-- Mark Smart's Diary
My mother, Alice Geniel Phelps, was nothing like Stu. She was soft, well spoken and thoughtful. She liked to read and talk about philosophy, music and literature, things my father generally considered a waste of time. I could never figure out why someone like my mother married a guy like Stu until I came across a copy of my parents' wedding announcement. To my surprise I learned that they'd been married just eight weeks before I was born. I figured that with the way things were back then, she had to.
As I got older, Stu and I argued a lot. I couldn't tell you how many times my mother interceded on my behalf, sometimes standing between the two of us. My mother was the skin that held our home together. Now she was gone. And so was my home.
As I said, things were already going badly. Though I worked hard and earned straight A's, after my first year in school, the university announced a budgetary cutback and dropped hundreds of scholarships. Mine included. Since I was no longer in school, I lost my job at the university registrar's office and my room in the dorm.
In truth, I didn't care that much about engineering -- I had no real love for it -- but my parents couldn't afford tuition and the scholarship was my only way into college. My real dream was to be a songwriter. But music scholarships are hard to come by unless you're a classical virtuoso, which I'm not. I play the twelve-string guitar alright. I guess I'm more of a folksinger, not exactly Juilliard material.
Stu had predicted my failure and I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of making him right, so I stayed in Utah and wrote cheerful, fraudulent letters home, telling everyone that school was going well. The truth was I was lonely, poor and depressed, living in a rundown basement apartment and employed at the only job I could find -- on the janitorial crew at a nearby high school.
My plan was to save up enough money to get back into school, but I was barely making enough to get by. The day my mother died, my aunt called the dorm to tell me. That's when my family learned I was no longer in school. Since I had left no forwarding address or phone number, I didn't find out about my mother's death until two days after her funeral when I called home to talk to her. Stu answered the phone. He called me a liar and told me not to bother to come home.
I thought I'd hit bottom, but apparently there was still more room to fall. Later that same week Tennys, my girlfriend back in Alabama, whom I had dated for nearly four years, sent me a letter informing me of her recent engagement to a promising young chiropractor.
I'm ashamed of what happened next. I now believe that under the right circumstances we are all capable of things we'd never think possible.
In the last year I had struggled with depression. But now, with the added grief, loneliness and rejection, I began having thoughts of ending my life. At first it was no more than an errant spark, quickly extinguished. But as my depression deepened, the idea began to take root.
The night this story begins I had arrived at work only to be yelled at by a crazy English teacher who accused me of stealing a classroom CD player. I knew nothing of the player, had never even noticed it, but she insisted that I was the only one with access to her room and she swore I'd be fired and reported to the police if I didn't return it by the next day. Later that evening, as I cleaned toilets, I decided this would be my last night of pain. That was where my mind was when my car broke down on the way home from work. God kicking me one last time, I thought. The truth was He had other plans.
My mother used to say, "Man's extremities are God's opportunities." She also used to say, "Be kind to everyone -- you don't know what cross they're bearing and how sweet that kind word might ring." That night proved both pieces of wisdom true.
That night was the start of a journey that taught me that one truth can change everything. It was the night I found Macy. And it was the Christmas season that Macy found Noel.
Copyright © 2006 by Richard Paul Evans
Continues...
Excerpted from Finding Noel by Richard Paul Evans Copyright © 2006 by Richard Paul Evans. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Reading Group Guide
Finding Noel
Richard Paul Evans
Synopsis
"When I was young, my mother told me that everyone comes into our lives for a reason."
On a snowy November evening in Salt Lake City, Mark Smart, sitting in a broken down car, has hit rock bottom. He's lost his college scholarship, been dumped by his girlfriend back home, and most shattering of all, just learned of his mother's sudden death. But at the moment that he feels most hopeless, he meets Macy Wood, a kind and lovely stranger who is haunted by tragedies of her own.
Mark grows closer to Macy, learning the sad details of her past -- a neglectful father, an abusive adoptive family, and a lost sister, Noel. Guided by the message on an old glass ornament, Macy begins a journey to reconnect with her sister. As Mark helps Macy's search, he examines his own life, finding love, forgiveness, and the true meanings of family and Christmas.
Reading Guide
1. Finding Noel opens with an opinion, the narrator questioning an inspirational thought. Does this immediately create an impression of the narrator? Does Mark's skepticism make him more human and accessible? How does his questioning help draw you into his story?
2. In Mark's first encounter with Macy, she says, "We always tell our deepest secrets to strangers." (Pg. 12) Do you agree with her reasoning for this? How does Mark's initial honesty create a foundation for his relationship with Macy? In what ways does this contrast with the other relationships in his life? Why do you think Mark believes people will use his secrets against him?
3. In Finding Noel, many first encounters are described using specific physical descriptions of people or places. How do these details inform your first impressions of characters? Compare some of the setting descriptions, such as the Hummel household (pg. 28), Jolene's apartment (pg. 51), and the Thorup home (pg. 97). How do the settings reflect their inhabitants? In what ways are they deceptive?
4. Mark's past is summarized quickly in the first few pages of Finding Noel, whereas Macy's unfolds in pieces as the story progresses. Does your sympathy for Mark evolve as you learn about Macy? Does the difference in narrative pace indicate differences in the two characters' perspectives? How does Macy's reaction to her father contrast with Mark's resentment?
5. Does the revelation of his childhood battle with polio alter your opinion of Macy's father? Does this excuse his abandonment of his daughters to any degree? He says that "the greatest hurts of our lives come from running from the smaller hurts." In what way does this statement pertain to Mark's situation at the beginning of the book? How does his revelation help to set up Mark's father's later revelation?
6. When Mark and Joette spend time together on Thanksgiving, she compares parenting to The Wizard of Oz. How does this discussion affect Mark's outlook when he returns to Alabama?
7. Why did Macy react so negatively to Mark's proposal? Was it inappropriate for him to propose after so short a time? Was Macy's anger at Mark's running from his past justified, or was it an easy defense mechanism? How could Macy's past affect her present relationships?
8. How does Tennys's personality contrast with Macy's? What do you think Mark got out of his relationship with Tennys? Mark describes Tennys as a "sure thing." What makes her less of a challenge than Macy? How have Mark's strong emotions for Macy complicated his relationship with her, in addition to validating it? What sort of life do you imagine Mark would have with Tennys?
9. Finding Noel depicts very different examples of families and homes. What, ultimately, is the meaning of home? Was the Hummel household ever home to Macy? What makes Mark feel finally at home in Alabama? Do Macy and Mark need to find their own senses of family before they can form one together?
10. In Macy's Christmas poem (pg. 73), she describes the responsibility of Christmas as being "called, to leave our troubled lives of care,/To set aside our burdened minds, with God and man our hearts to share." In what ways is the gift of Christmas also a responsibility? How does Mark step up to the challenge in this novel? In what ways is this a Christmas story?
Reading Group Tips
Is it near the holidays? Why not have a crafts day and make holiday ornaments together? For do-it-yourself ideas, visit this website: hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_occasions_december/0,1792,HGTV_3472,00.html To make it more personal, you could include a message to someone special, just like in Finding Noel.
Visit richardpaulevans.com, where he discusses the inspiration for his books, and keeps us updated on upcoming novels.
Have a discussion about fate. Do you believe in it? Have fun sharing stories about times you feel that someone has come into your life for a reason.
Introduction
Finding Noel
Richard Paul Evans
Synopsis
"When I was young, my mother told me that everyone comes into our lives for a reason."
On a snowy November evening in Salt Lake City, Mark Smart, sitting in a broken down car, has hit rock bottom. He's lost his college scholarship, been dumped by his girlfriend back home, and most shattering of all, just learned of his mother's sudden death. But at the moment that he feels most hopeless, he meets Macy Wood, a kind and lovely stranger who is haunted by tragedies of her own.
Mark grows closer to Macy, learning the sad details of her past — a neglectful father, an abusive adoptive family, and a lost sister, Noel. Guided by the message on an old glass ornament, Macy begins a journey to reconnect with her sister. As Mark helps Macy's search, he examines his own life, finding love, forgiveness, and the true meanings of family and Christmas.
Reading Guide
1. Finding Noel opens with an opinion, the narrator questioning an inspirational thought. Does this immediately create an impression of the narrator? Does Mark's skepticism make him more human and accessible? How does his questioning help draw you into his story?
2. In Mark's first encounter with Macy, she says, "We always tell our deepest secrets to strangers." (Pg. 12) Do you agree with her reasoning for this? How does Mark's initial honesty create a foundation for his relationship with Macy? In what ways does this contrast with the other relationships in his life? Why do you think Mark believes people will use his secrets against him?
3. In Finding Noel, many first encounters are described using specific physical descriptions ofpeople or places. How do these details inform your first impressions of characters? Compare some of the setting descriptions, such as the Hummel household (pg. 28), Jolene's apartment (pg. 51), and the Thorup home (pg. 97). How do the settings reflect their inhabitants? In what ways are they deceptive?
4. Mark's past is summarized quickly in the first few pages of Finding Noel, whereas Macy's unfolds in pieces as the story progresses. Does your sympathy for Mark evolve as you learn about Macy? Does the difference in narrative pace indicate differences in the two characters' perspectives? How does Macy's reaction to her father contrast with Mark's resentment?
5. Does the revelation of his childhood battle with polio alter your opinion of Macy's father? Does this excuse his abandonment of his daughters to any degree? He says that "the greatest hurts of our lives come from running from the smaller hurts." In what way does this statement pertain to Mark's situation at the beginning of the book? How does his revelation help to set up Mark's father's later revelation?
6. When Mark and Joette spend time together on Thanksgiving, she compares parenting to The Wizard of Oz. How does this discussion affect Mark's outlook when he returns to Alabama?
7. Why did Macy react so negatively to Mark's proposal? Was it inappropriate for him to propose after so short a time? Was Macy's anger at Mark's running from his past justified, or was it an easy defense mechanism? How could Macy's past affect her present relationships?
8. How does Tennys's personality contrast with Macy's? What do you think Mark got out of his relationship with Tennys? Mark describes Tennys as a "sure thing." What makes her less of a challenge than Macy? How have Mark's strong emotions for Macy complicated his relationship with her, in addition to validating it? What sort of life do you imagine Mark would have with Tennys?
9. Finding Noel depicts very different examples of families and homes. What, ultimately, is the meaning of home? Was the Hummel household ever home to Macy? What makes Mark feel finally at home in Alabama? Do Macy and Mark need to find their own senses of family before they can form one together?
10. In Macy's Christmas poem (pg. 73), she describes the responsibility of Christmas as being "called, to leave our troubled lives of care,/To set aside our burdened minds, with God and man our hearts to share." In what ways is the gift of Christmas also a responsibility? How does Mark step up to the challenge in this novel? In what ways is this a Christmas story?
Reading Group Tips
Is it near the holidays? Why not have a crafts day and make holiday ornaments together? For do-it-yourself ideas, visit this website: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_occasions_december/0,1792,HGTV_3472,00.htmlTo make it more personal, you could include a message to someone special, just like in Finding Noel.
Visit www.richardpaulevans.com, where he discusses the inspiration for his books, and keeps us updated on upcoming novels.
Have a discussion about fate. Do you believe in it? Have fun sharing stories about times you feel that someone has come into your life for a reason.
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