helping her, I knew better. The healing power of her touch was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
I contacted my lady friend at the Make a Wish Foundation and told her Sophia’s story. I had no idea I’d called too late.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It was a Wednesday evening, just past dusk, and though I didn’t realize it, Sophia and I were about to speak for the very last time.
“If you had one wish that could come true, what would it be?” she asked.
The hair on my arms stood erect. I’d just contacted Make a Wish for her and I never did believe in coincidences. I thought for a second and said, “On the day I stand before God…that He’ll smile at me,” I answered. “What if you had one wish that could come true, what would it be?” I reciprocated.
She looked into my eyes and without hesitation said, “That your wish will come true.”
I almost chuckled until I saw she was serious. We sat there holding hands for a long time – or at least a long time for us.
Finally, she asked, “Do you doubt that God will smile at you?”
“I’ve done some things in my life I’m not proud of,” I admitted.
“But God forgives everything, right?”
“I guess that depends on which path you take in life.”
She shrugged. “But how can there be a wrong path…as long as you’re trying to get home to Him?”
I looked at her, but had no answer.
Such wisdom for a little girl…
She yawned twice and I summoned the nurse to help her back to her room.
“Sweet dreams,” she told me, as I left for the night.
“Sweet dreams, beautiful. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said and kissed her tiny forehead. I’ll never forget the miracle in her smile.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In all my fifty-seven years, Sophia’s funeral was the cruelest experience I’d ever endured – and from the pain in Bella’s eyes, she clearly felt the same.
2
The Rockin' Chair
Memories are the ultimate contradiction. They can warm us on our coldest days – or they can freeze a loved one out of our lives forever. The McCarthy family has a trove of warm memories. Of innocent first kisses. Of sumptuous family meals. Of wondrous lessons learned at the foot of a rocking chair. But they also have had their share of icy ones. Of words that can never be unsaid. Of choices that can never be unmade. Of actions that can never be undone.
Following the death of his beloved wife, John McCarthy – Grandpa John – calls his family back home. It is time for them to face the memories they have made, both warm and cold. Only then can they move beyond them and into the future.
A rich portrait of a family at a crossroad,
The Rockin’ Chair
is Steven Manchester’s most heartfelt and emotionally engaging novel to date. If family matters to you, it is a story you must read.
*
*
When my first son, Evan, was born, it amazed me how he and my father hit it off. Unlike my dad’s tough approach with me and my brothers, he was gentle with my son. And to Evan, the old man walked on water. The entire thing got me thinking about the responsibilities and expectations of a father versus a grandfather, and how the roles can be at such polar opposites.
In
The Rockin’ Chair
—arguably one of my favorite tear jerkers—I created Grampa John, a compassionate farmer in the spirit of my late grandfather. I then created Hank, his estranged son, whose memories are not as rose-colored as his father’s. The rest—bitter feelings and things said that shouldn’t have been said—play out in a sequence of scenes that most fathers and sons can relate to.
Grampa John decides that before he can join his wife, Alice, in eternal rest, he must tend to a few final chores and heal his family. One by one, he guides his grandchildren through their healing process with the strength of his wisdom and unconditional love. And then he gets to Hank. As the clock ticks fast, John wonders if there’s enough time to prove that love has always existed when it has been masked for an
I contacted my lady friend at the Make a Wish Foundation and told her Sophia’s story. I had no idea I’d called too late.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It was a Wednesday evening, just past dusk, and though I didn’t realize it, Sophia and I were about to speak for the very last time.
“If you had one wish that could come true, what would it be?” she asked.
The hair on my arms stood erect. I’d just contacted Make a Wish for her and I never did believe in coincidences. I thought for a second and said, “On the day I stand before God…that He’ll smile at me,” I answered. “What if you had one wish that could come true, what would it be?” I reciprocated.
She looked into my eyes and without hesitation said, “That your wish will come true.”
I almost chuckled until I saw she was serious. We sat there holding hands for a long time – or at least a long time for us.
Finally, she asked, “Do you doubt that God will smile at you?”
“I’ve done some things in my life I’m not proud of,” I admitted.
“But God forgives everything, right?”
“I guess that depends on which path you take in life.”
She shrugged. “But how can there be a wrong path…as long as you’re trying to get home to Him?”
I looked at her, but had no answer.
Such wisdom for a little girl…
She yawned twice and I summoned the nurse to help her back to her room.
“Sweet dreams,” she told me, as I left for the night.
“Sweet dreams, beautiful. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said and kissed her tiny forehead. I’ll never forget the miracle in her smile.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In all my fifty-seven years, Sophia’s funeral was the cruelest experience I’d ever endured – and from the pain in Bella’s eyes, she clearly felt the same.
2
The Rockin' Chair
Memories are the ultimate contradiction. They can warm us on our coldest days – or they can freeze a loved one out of our lives forever. The McCarthy family has a trove of warm memories. Of innocent first kisses. Of sumptuous family meals. Of wondrous lessons learned at the foot of a rocking chair. But they also have had their share of icy ones. Of words that can never be unsaid. Of choices that can never be unmade. Of actions that can never be undone.
Following the death of his beloved wife, John McCarthy – Grandpa John – calls his family back home. It is time for them to face the memories they have made, both warm and cold. Only then can they move beyond them and into the future.
A rich portrait of a family at a crossroad,
The Rockin’ Chair
is Steven Manchester’s most heartfelt and emotionally engaging novel to date. If family matters to you, it is a story you must read.
*
*
When my first son, Evan, was born, it amazed me how he and my father hit it off. Unlike my dad’s tough approach with me and my brothers, he was gentle with my son. And to Evan, the old man walked on water. The entire thing got me thinking about the responsibilities and expectations of a father versus a grandfather, and how the roles can be at such polar opposites.
In
The Rockin’ Chair
—arguably one of my favorite tear jerkers—I created Grampa John, a compassionate farmer in the spirit of my late grandfather. I then created Hank, his estranged son, whose memories are not as rose-colored as his father’s. The rest—bitter feelings and things said that shouldn’t have been said—play out in a sequence of scenes that most fathers and sons can relate to.
Grampa John decides that before he can join his wife, Alice, in eternal rest, he must tend to a few final chores and heal his family. One by one, he guides his grandchildren through their healing process with the strength of his wisdom and unconditional love. And then he gets to Hank. As the clock ticks fast, John wonders if there’s enough time to prove that love has always existed when it has been masked for an
Similar Books
