I began writing this story with the sole intention of only sharing it with my family. But something happened along the way: The story took over and wrote itself. There were things I had spent years trying (and eventually succeeding) to forget that just spilled out of the end of my pen; stories that I had never intended to share with anyone.

Yet now that the story is out, I share it with joy. It’s almost as if it wanted to be told…

And while some of the names and events have been changed, what follows is, at its core, the story of the most important Christmas of my life. In the spirit of this blessed season, I share this story as my gift to you. May it bring you and your loved ones the same joy it’s brought to me.”