The 13th Gift: A True Story of a Christmas Miracle

Just finished Joanne Huist Smith’s "The 13th Gift" for my fraternity book club. It is a heartwarming testament to the power of kindness and a perfect read for the holiday season, offering inspiration not just for Christmas but for any time of year when generosity and connection are needed most. "The 13th Gift" is a heartfelt memoir that captures the power of compassion during life’s most challenging moments. This true story recounts how a grieving family, shattered by the sudden loss of a husband and father, finds unexpected hope and healing through anonymous acts of kindness during the 12 days leading up to Christmas. The author's writing style is simple, yet it is deeply moving. What makes this book extraordinary is its universal message: that small gestures of love and kindness can restore hope, mend hearts, and bring light to the darkest of times. A solid read for someone seeking an uplifting story that celebrates the enduring spirit of the holidays and humanity. Check it out!

I read this for a December book club. I have owned a Kindle copy for several years, but just now got around to reading it. I really wish I would have read it sooner, but like so many other things in life, it seems I read it just when I was supposed to. It is far too easy, in today's hustle & bustle world, to get caught up in the trappings of the Holiday season and forget the more important aspects - family, love, forgiveness, acceptance, and, yes, loss. Depression is insidious. It doesn't hit you like a cold or an injury can. It creeps in, filling up all the empty places of the day, convincing people that just going through the motions is enough. By making us numb to the pain, it also robs us of the joy that life can bring. The Smiths are just going through the motions after the death of the family patriarch, Rick. His widow and children have become numb to life, with only the youngest child, Megan, still hopeful for the coming of Christmas. Yet, even her endeavors to bring the Christmas spirit back into the home are half-hearted, at best. It is in the midst of this bleak run-up to Christmas that a series of Random Acts of Kindness begin to reawaken the family to the world of life around them. This book is part memoir, part instruction guide, on how to revive the joy of everyday living. Things will never be "perfect." There will always be something that causes a hitch in one's plans or expectations, but it is how we handle those challenges and overcome them that help define who we are and how we can best move forward. I highly recommend this book, and if you can read it at Christmastime, even better!

This unputdownable true story is like a beacon for anyone who wants to truly bless others with the true gifts of giving and love. A few years ago one of our children decided that my spouse and I had molested our own grandchildren and decided they needed to "take a break" from our family relationship. It lasted for 2 and 1/2 years. I felt like there was an anvil on top of my head. I knew that for my own survival I had to find someone else in need and serve them. The Lord put a friend in my path that I could be of service to. I felt that was what helped me thru it. I refused to give up on our child and our grandchildren. Thru counseling and humility our child realized the wrong things that were causing the feelings. We also sought counseling through our church. The issue was resolved and our family was reunited shortly after the 4th grandchild was born and what a wonderful blessing it was to be reunited! I can totally relate to the grief felt though our trial wasn't caused by a death in the family. Those two Christmas seasons were bleak indeed but my belief in service got us through it. I recommend this book to anyone suffering loss, whether it is a death or a temporary split in family ties.

This is a beautiful story of kindness and healing. The fact that it is a true story makes it extraordinary. May we all be inspired to do good where we can and to show kindness to those in need. Thank you Joanne for sharing your story with us.

I really wanted to love this book as so many others did. Maybe if I just lost a loved one I might have loved it. But I found it kind of boring and it just didn’t hold my interest. I am not going to pass it on to friends as I normally do but just donate it to Goodwill.

I loved this book! I felt drawn into the family - cried with them, felt their anguish and also laughed with them. Great story of working through grief honoring loved who left too soon yet cherishing those still here.

I found this book to be a delightful Christmas read. I try to read a Christmas book around the holidays each year, as I find it helps to put me in the Christmas Spirit. This book did just that and had a very good message about hope, caring, family and a way to help others work through the grievance process. Too many times people fail to find a new way or better way to work through a loss, this is a thinking outside the box idea. I gave the book 4 stars because while it was an easy read, I felt the author could of developed some of the characters a little bit better, I would of organized a chapter just on her Husband Rick and put it earlier in the book, or a section on her family as a whole. But the book does show good Christmas spirit, love and a story that is tied together well in the end. The book had some humorist parts as well but I feel the author could of made them a little funnier by using some creativeness. I think a little further research on the gift giving group and sub-culture would of been nice as well, espically in the end of the book. So while not a perfect read it was a fun book for the holidays to read and I would recommend it again to friends espically around the holidays next year.

This is a book that will now be one of those I read EVERY December. I've been planning to read it since it came out last year, but it got lost in the shuffle of my TBR pile, so I saved it for this Christmas season. The fact that the author is a local resident was also a drawing point for me. This book deals with a family grieving the death of their husband and father, and their first holiday season without him. It is a very touching story, and shares the true spirit of the season. The gifts that show up on the family's doorstep each day not only help them to get the holiday spirit back in their lives, they also bring the family back together. I couldn't stop reading this book, wanting to get to the next chapter to find out about the next gift. By the end, you will realize that the thirteenth gift is the most meaningful one of all. I'm going to be recommending this one to everyone, and probably gifting it to people next year.

This book is fascinating. Very hard to put down. A simply wonderful Story. I feel truly priviliged that I found this book and read it. Gift givers are wonderful people.

Great book lessons to be learnt Loved it 🥰

I really loved this book. It started off a bit dark and sad, normal when you lose your soulmate, husband, father of your children, your everything. The secret gifts worked a treat and all members in the family cheered up and became a family who were ale to enjoy Christmas which is about being together with family and friends. this is what christmas should be secret gifts, rather than gifts for giving. I hope lots of people take up this way of gift giving especially to people who go through a difficult time.Many thanks to the author I hope she and her family are well and not only keep the gift giving up but also inpiring other to do the same.

This book was a gift to me for a sad Christmas. The turning point of our retirement has revived the memory of the Christmas after my Dad's death (not long after his retirement) when nothing was joyful and we had to hold each other close to keep from falling apart. It has encouraged me to look outward for people to encourage at Christmas time.

A nice light read.