THE CHRISTMAS TABLE - Donna Vanliere
St. Martin's Press
ISBN-10 :  1250164672
ISBN-13:  978-1250164674
October 2020
Fiction

USA - 1972 and 2012

May 1972 - The plan is to build a kitchen table by October, but John Creighton has never built anything before. He finds a beautiful piece of black walnut and has a book, MEASURE TWICE AND CUT ONCE, and John is going to use it to   create a masterpiece. His wife, Joan, isn't too sure, but she encourages him as she, too, is determined to learn how to cook better meals to put on John's table. Not one to follow directions well, Joan is now following the lovingly handwritten recipe cards that her mother gave her. Their two young children deserve good food, too, so this is a work of love for Joan.

May 2012 - Lauren Mabrey is embracing her new hometown. After a life going from home to home as a foster child, Lauren is now happily married to Travis, and works at the local supermarket, volunteering after hours at Glory's Place which takes in local children after school, providing care as well as tutoring. Lauren and Travis are just setting up housekeeping and are in need of a kitchen table. The group of women at Glory's Place find the perfect table and Lauren is delighted with it. It's obviously homemade and there's a little drawer in which Lauren finds a stack of recipe cards. As someone who is desperate to learn to cook, Lauren is thrilled with the loving details and homey comments written on the cards, and she begins to learn the tricks of cooking from a mother she never had. Shortly after, Lauren learns she is pregnant.

July 1972 - Joan is called back to her doctor's office after her annual check-up. Thinking it's about not having her newest insurance information at the first appointment, Joan is stunned to be told that she has breast cancer, and her treatments must start immediately. Each chemotherapy session leaves her drained, and John makes sure she is allowed to rest, as he takes over the household duties. The table will have to wait. Maybe it will be ready for Thanksgiving. In the meantime, John prays that Joan can overcome this horrible disease.

July 2012 - As Lauren becomes more proficient in the kitchen, she yearns to discover who wrote these loving notes and recipes, so she begins to ask around town. The name Bud crops up all of the time in the recipes as the farmer where milk and yogurt are purchased. Could he still be around? Lauren has no idea how old the cards are, but she hopes to find a link to them. 

THE CHRISTMAS TABLE is a sweet, inspirational story about overcoming hardships in life, and cherishing family and friends. How will Joan's struggle turn out? And will Lauren discover the answer to her search? 

Jani Brooks