Review: The Gift by Richard Paul Evans

5 stars for The Gift by Richard Paul Evans.

Time passes so fast that we often lose track of it. I am glad to still remember with vivid clarity the feeling of hope, faith and sense of peace that decends upon my whole being after reading The Walk series in the beginning of this year. It has not been a deliberate calculated move on my part to start off the year 2015 with a review of book 1 The Walk. But as it happens, I did and enjoyed the story so much that I lapped the whole series up in less than 3 week's time.

As we enter into the holiday season, all I can think of is reading Author Evans' books on healing and sharing. Having started the year with his books, I hope to end it with his stories as well. The Gift, a story about healing, is one of Author Evans' books which I have specially put aside to be read at this time of the year.

The protagonist, Nathan Hurst, has Tourette's syndrome, an inherited neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, stereotyped, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics. Nathan works as an in-house detective for a music chain store, keeping an eye on employees who steal and from getting off scot-free.

Nathan's story begins about a week before Thanksgiving. Having wrapped up his task in settling an employee pilfering at the Philadelphia store, Nathan hurries to catch a flight home to Salt Lake City. Due to bad weather conditions, his two-hour transit in the Denver airport turns into an overnight stay in the airport hotel. It is while queuing up at the help counter that Nathan meets Addison, Elizabeth and Collin; the trio who touches his heart and changes forever his belief and outlook to life.

Having finished the story, I am really glad to have put aside this book for my reading pleasure during this festive season. The Gift is not solely a story about healing, it is also a poignant reminder of the passing of time. It evokes in me a keen sense of sadness and regret amidst the gift of healing. To heal or to ignore? What if the act of healing others draws life out of the one who heals? It makes me weep as a grieving mum does over the fate of her child and things which are way beyond her control. Yet as sad and touching a story as it is, the author pens it with faith and hope in the powers there be. It makes me feel that not all is lost.

Last but not least, I have a confession to make. For years on end, I have always believed or choose to believe that the coordinated repetitive patterns of facial movements performed in the same order by my own brother is an extremely bad habit of his own choosing. He has a mininum of five different manifestations - eye blinking, nose twitching, facial grimacing, head jerking and head twisting - at least those that I can visibly see.

I used to question why mum fails to stop my younger brother from making a disgrace of himself with all his awful facial movements. It gets especially worse when he is nervous or excited. And I feel so embarrass just to be seen with my own sibling in the public. Once, my brother even tells me that he needs to complete his facial movements in a certain way and a certain number of times in order to relieve some kind of urge or sensation which he is unable to explain. I find it absolutely absurd and hard to believe.

That was then, the ignorant me. Now I finally understand. My younger brother is actually a victim of complex motor tics. By my reading of The Gift, I am granted a gift, the precious gift of understanding.

In a bid to better understand Tourette's syndrome since reading the Author’s Note in The Gift, I spend some time googling and reading up on this neurological disorder. Among the articles that I come across, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) provides the most comprehensive information on Tourette's syndrome.

Below is a condensed version of my understanding. For more information on this neurological disorder, you can refer to the link listed below.

What is Tourette's syndrome?

Tourette's syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by the presence of both motor tics and vocal tics.

These short-lasting sudden movements (motor tics) or uttered sounds (vocal tics) occur suddenly during what is otherwise normal behavior.

TS occurs in people from all ethnic groups; males are affected about three to four times more often than females.

What are the symptoms?

Tics are classified as either simple or complex.

Simple motor tics are sudden, brief, repetitive movements that involve a limited number of muscle groups, such as eye blinking, nose twitching, facial grimacing, shoulder shrugging, and head or shoulder jerking.

Complex motor tics are distinct, coordinated patterns of movements performed in the same order that involve several muscle groups, such as facial grimacing combined with a head twist and a shoulder shrug. Some other complex motor tics may actually appear purposeful, such as sniffing or touching objects, hopping, jumping, bending or twisting.

Simple vocal tics may include repetitive throat-clearing, sniffing/snorting, grunting, or barking.

Complex vocal tics include words or phrases; some may involve uttering socially inappropriate words such as swearing or repeating the words or phrases of others.

Some tics are preceded by an urge or sensation in the affected muscle group, commonly called a premonitory urge. Some with TS will describe a need to complete a tic in a certain way or a certain number of times in order to relieve the urge or decrease the sensation.

Tics are often worse with excitement or anxiety and better during calm, focused activities.

Tics do not go away during sleep but are often significantly diminished.

(Source: Tourette Syndrome Fact Sheet | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke  Last modified on 16 April 2014)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: 9 Oct 2007

*** Favourite quote 1 ***

The most important story we will ever write in life is our own - not with ink, but with our daily choices.

*** Favourite quote 2 ***

Sunsets, like childhood, are viewed with wonder not just because they are beautiful but because they are fleeting.

*** Favourite quote 3 ***

Our thoughts are not arrows haphazardly shot out into the cosmos. They are boomerangs.

~ The Gift
Richard Paul Evans

@}--->>--->>-----

There is no hurt
so great that love
cannot heal it

Nathan Hurst hated Christmas. For the rest of the world it was a day of joy and celebration; for Nathan it was simply a reminder of the event that destroyed his childhood until a snowstorm, a cancelled flight, and an unexpected meeting with a young mother and her very special son would show him that Christmas is indeed the season of miracles.

*Blurb from FantasticFiction*

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