Maria Roncari

Gebundenes Buch

Ollie's Gift

Inspired by a True Story

Beschreibung

During a visit to the Jim Crow-era Deep South, a young girl discovers that the privilege she has always known does not extend to others. Can an unexpected gift from an ill and blind older woman mend the child's shattered view of her once-rose-colored world? Christmas Eve, December 1958 ...The child gazes out her window and smiles at the perfect light snowfall. The holidays were filled with lively Italian family gatherings overflowing with food, fun, laughter, and love. Every present on her wish list would be waiting under the tree on Christmas morning; they always were, and Marie felt like one of the luckiest kids alive. It never occurred to her that not all children might be as fortunate. Two days after that storybook holiday, the child's innocent view of the world is turned upside down during a visit to her missionary cousin in Alabama. The heart of Dixie reveals a starkly different reality from her New England white Christmas, thrusting Marie into a world of racism, poverty, and hate she never knew existed. At the precipice of her heartbreak and confusion, the child meets an ill and blind older woman named Miss Ollie. She had the same beautiful face. Like how I thought an angel might look. Despite their brief time together, the two form a deep, inexplicable bond of love. Yet can love truly restore what hate has broken-and teach a child to see the world through gentler eyes once more? Well, another one of those stories that kept me up. You're such a good writer. I mean, the way you captured your voice as a child, the way you talked about your perceptions as you were having them ... doing dialect is really hard in writing. You captured it so well. I just couldn't stop turning the pages. I think you have an incredible story. -Jack Canfield, Author and Motivational Speaker. Co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series Mastermind Retreat, Roncari Book Critique

Autor

Maria Roncari rarely leaves you wondering what she meant to say-in person or on paper. She discovered her writer's voice at the age of thirteen when an interrupted dream to become a professional dancer inspired her to write a humorous school play that unexpectedly changed her path. With over five decades of writing, teaching, producing, and directing, Roncari has brought countless shows and stories to life, including nearly eight hundred love story marriage ceremonies she wrote and officiated. It was toward the end of her seventeen years in Art and Design Entertainment at Universal Orlando that co-worker friends encouraged her to finally share her childhood experience in Ollie's Gift. Ms. Roncari continues her creative journey now as a writer, speaker, and teacher. She perseveres in the Call to Action related to Ollie's Gift, as well as the development of The Bodewell Project and a new series, The Bodewell Chronicles. Maria views humanity as stories just waiting to be told, and her cherished children and the ever-changing rhythm of life never cease to fuel her creative passions. "Life gives us a kaleidoscope of adventures with a few comedies of errors thrown in to keep us on our toes. And we're still here!"

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Palmetto Publishing
• Seitenzahl: 118
• Erscheinungstermin: 5. August 2025
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 216mm x 140mm x 11mm
• Gewicht: 286g
• ISBN-13: 9798822976528
• Artikelnr.: 75047526