A Stranger's Gift: True Stories of Faith in Unexpected Places
By Tom Hallman
5/5
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About this ebook
In this very personal, welcoming book, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Tom Hallman, Jr., shares his journey of faith from indifferent agnostic to growing believer. Faith, Hallman tells us, is looking in the mirror in the morning and wondering why. It’s about doubt and hope. It’s catching a glimpse of a beacon piercing the fog of life and walking toward it, never knowing if you’re headed in the right direction, but pressing onward.
You’ll meet ordinary people and be drawn into conversations that ask probing, almost intrusive questions—conversations that linger in your mind and resonate with your heart—from the ache of a mother who watched her baby die after only twenty days of struggling for life to the peaceful strength of a man working with those whose present situations mirror his past.
Within these pages, you’ll find real and honest accounts of everyday people whose discoveries of faith will inspire and comfort you on your own journey.
***
The security lock thumped open, and I stepped into Level 3, a neonatal unit where I had been drawn to a drama played out minute by minute. As I stood above two cribs along a back wall, I wondered less about doctors, nurses, and medicine and more about God.
Two babies had been born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Both had been placed on a heart-lung bypass machine to let their organs rest.
One boy had no name. His mother was a crack addict. After giving birth, she abandoned her baby and never returned to the hospital.
In the adjacent crib lay Jonah Van Arnam. His parents were active members of a church and visited their son daily to pray for him and the nurses and doctors.
One afternoon, a nurse pulled me aside and told me a miracle was taking place: the crack addict’s baby was getting better. But . . . Jonah was dying.
Why had God abandoned this couple and their son?
Where was this so-called loving God?
—from chapter 6
Tom Hallman
Tom Hallman, Jr. is a Pulitzer Prize winner for his series of articles about a boy named Sam whose face was severely disfigured. Other stories by Hallman have appeared in Esquire, Men’s Health, Readers Digest, Writers Digest, and other magazines. He has won every major feature-writing award in the nation. Born and raised in Portland, Hallman graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1977. He now writes for The Oregorian in Portland.
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Reviews for A Stranger's Gift
3 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Book Title: "A Stranger’s Gift”Author: Tom Hallman, Jr.Published By: Howard BooksAge Recommended: 17+Reviewed By: Kitty BullardRaven Rating: 5Review: This book is a valuable collection of inspirational stories that will help you through your life in many ways. Tom Hallman, Jr. takes you on a journey that will move you and bring you closer to God.A beautiful book, one to cherish and keep on the shelf to read again and again.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A journalist myself on much the same journey, this is the book I wished existed and feared it did not. For everyone looking to discover what it means to live your faith on a day to day basis in today's world- an honest,raw reckoning.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When I picked up this book, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Was I about to read a book that would hold my interest, or one that would just come across as preachy? Would I find myself able to relate to the people portrayed in it's pages? The answer to both questions is that Tom Hallman has written a book that is utterly engaging, sure to capture your attention from start to finish, and one that is filled with everyday people whose lives reflect the uncertainty and doubt and moments of discovery that we all experience. What I enjoyed most of all is that the author recognizes that God is perfectly fine with our doubts in life, doubts like those expressed by Jesus' disciple Thomas after he was raised from the dead, or doubts you and I struggle with when mired in difficult circumstances. Hallman perfectly captures the fact that we are on a journey, with "one step forward, two steps back". I was struck by Hallman's comment that "In the years to come, I hope that my children remember not what I did for a living, but how I lived". Reading this book will undoubtedly help us grow closer to that goal of living a life of worth and significance. Crafted with skilled writing, and sure to entertain with inspirational stories while also making you ponder your own faith journey, A Stranger's Gift is a treasure indeed. I highly recommend this book and give it 5 out of 5 stars.A copy of the book has been provided courtesy of the publisher, for the purposes of this unbiased review.