Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Christmas Promise: A Novel
    The Christmas Promise: A Novel
    The Christmas Promise: A Novel
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Christmas Promise: A Novel

    Written by Donna VanLiere

    Narrated by Donna VanLiere

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Donna VanLiere's books movingly portray ordinary people reaching for more meaningful lives. In The Christmas Promise, she follows two seemingly separate individuals and shows how their lives intersect. Chaz McConnell realizes that his life is empty—and he's made it that way. He goes home every night to a bare apartment. For the first time in his life, he's working at a job that will last more than a few weeks, as security for Wilson's Department Store. Trying to reach out, he befriends 4-year-old Donovan, whose mother is part of the janitorial team at Wilson's.

    Gloria Bailey finds it easy to care for families in need but just can't seem to bridge the gap with her cantankerous neighbor, 60-something widow Miriam Lloyd Davies. When Miriam goes away for a week and a pipe bursts she comes home to a house under water. Gloria, in an act of kindness—or maybe insanity—invites Miriam to stay at her house until a hotel room becomes available. They eventually realize they have more in common than they ever thought. In this beautiful, deeply poignant novel, we are reminded that the past is never far behind and all of us are longing for a place to call home.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateOct 30, 2007
    ISBN9781427201904
    The Christmas Promise: A Novel
    Author

    Donna VanLiere

    Donna VanLiere is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her much-loved Christmas Hope series includes The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Blessing (both of which were adapted into movies for CBS Television), The Christmas Secret, The Christmas Journey, and The Christmas Hope, which was adapted into a film by Lifetime. She is also the author of The Angels of Morgan Hill and Finding Grace. VanLiere is the recipient of a Retailer's Choice Award for Fiction, a Dove Award, a Silver Angel Award, an Audie Award for best inspirational fiction, and a nominee for a Gold Medallion Book of the Year. She is a gifted speaker who makes regular appearances at conferences. She lives in Franklin, Tennessee, with her husband and their children.

    More audiobooks from Donna Van Liere

    Related to The Christmas Promise

    Titles in the series (11)

    View More
    View More

    Related audiobooks

    General Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Night Light

      Oct 25, 2019

      Night Light
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Family Plot

      May 7, 2020

      The Family Plot
      10 min read

    • Article

      The Space Between Us

      Oct 9, 2019

      The Space Between Us
      8 min read

    • Article

      A Perfect Wedding

      Apr 6, 2020

      A Perfect Wedding
      5 min read

    • Article

      Good Bones

      Mar 19, 2020

      Good Bones
      18 min read

    • Article

      Now That I’ve Arrived

      Dec 30, 2020

      Now That I’ve Arrived
      5 min read

    • Article

      A Perfect Wedding

      Aug 2, 2021

      The door bangs, the house trembles, I hold my breath: Bridezilla is home. My son coined the phrase and normally I try to minimise teasing between my children (a lifetime’s habit, a lifetime’s work) but frankly, I agree with him. A blood-curdling scre

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Problem with My Dachshund

      Dec 11, 2019

      The Problem with My Dachshund
      10 min read

    • Article

      Famous People

      Mar 1, 2022

      Famous People
      15 min read

    • Article

      That Particular Sunday

      Jul 6, 2023

      That Particular Sunday
      26 min read

    • Article

      Two Poems

      Jul 1, 2023

      I The teenaged girl is searching for a placethat goes through, the holeto put the tampon inside. When she finds itshe asks her mother, Is this where the penis would go?Yes, her mother explains.Then I will never have sex. II Sweltering New York City.

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Leather Coat

      Apr 4, 2024

      The Leather Coat
      6 min read

    • Article

      Penny From Heaven

      Feb 27, 2020

      Penny From Heaven
      5 min read

    • Article

      Summer Beach Reads

      Jan 10, 2021

      Summer Beach Reads
      7 min read

    • Article

      Ongoingness

      Apr 21, 2022

      Ongoingness
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Hole In The Fence

      Oct 6, 2020

      The Hole In The Fence
      9 min read

    • Article

      Penny

      Jul 2, 2020

      Penny
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Rainbow Connection

      Mar 26, 2022

      Miracles come to us in every shape, size and even color. God’s blessings flow across a spectrum, from everyday reassurances of his presence to out-of-this-world experiences; each divine mystery as vibrant as the colors of the rainbow. These stories s

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Last Friend on Earth

      May 4, 2023

      It was as if Doreen Saunders had been waiting for me, passing the time until my arrival. She might as well have been sitting in a rocking chair, knitting needles clicking, jam tarts cooling on the side, the door wide open, waiting for the next visito

      6 min read

    • Article

      My Dinner with Denis Johnson

      Jun 25, 2018

      My Dinner with Denis Johnson
      13 min read

    • Article

      Averted Vision

      Sep 1, 2022

      Averted Vision
      25 min read

    • Article

      Teddy And Roosevelt

      Jan 10, 2021

      They call it Friends Group. But there are no friends, and there is no group. Just me, a state-funded Social Worker, and another sixth grader the kids call Sweaty Teddy. We sit in a converted cinderblock office between the furnace and the chapel and l

      16 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Christmas Promise

    4/5

    81 ratings11 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Great short storyline with hope. There are believable, interesting characters that work well to maintain interest in this book. I enjoyed thisvauthors work.
    • 5/5
      A nice book to listen too this time of year. A quick read and uplifting. I love all of the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. I enjoy how everyone’s lives touch the others on the book.
    • 5/5
      Another wonderful Christmas book by Donna Van Liere. I want to read them all! Highly recommended. The author's narration makes it live and breathe.
    • 5/5
      Writing: 5.0Theme: 4.5Content: 4.5Language: 4.5Overall: 4.5; Great sequel to the The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Blessing. I did not think it was as quite as good as the first two in this series, but it was still a very good tome. The lives of Robert Layton, Jack and Nathan Andrews, among some new cast members are developed in this Christmas sequel. The three mentioned are only briefly mentioned, but we see how our lives continue to affect others in many ways- through encouragement, direction, and kindness. Mr. Glory reunites with her long lost son along with meeting and getting to know her obtuse neighbor (in the beginning), Miriam. As with all of VanLiere's books, she does a wonderful job of developing the stories that came before and enmeshing them with the new. There were two uses of vulgarity. Highly recommend.***December 23, 2014***
    • 5/5
      The Christmas Promise was another great Christmas story from Donna VanLiere. The first three books in the Christmas Hope series embodied a sense of sadness with death taking center stage in each of them. While I loved all those books, it was nice to have one with a more whimsical tone where no one dies or is struggling mightily with someone else's death. There are some heavy themes, such as loneliness, alcoholism, domestic abuse and a missing child, but there was enough humor and lighter moments to keep those things from becoming depressing. This book also had more of an ensemble cast than the first three with several characters playing significant roles. Overall, The Christmas Promise was a heartwarming Christmas story that I would recommend to anyone needing to lift their spirits this holiday season.As with the other books in this series, The Christmas Promise is written in alternating first and third person POV. The first person narrator this time is Gloria aka Miss Glory. She is a retired widow whose adult son has been missing for seven years. He left home just before Gloria's husband, his father, died, and she hasn't seen or heard from him since. She somewhat recently moved to the unnamed small town that has been the setting for all the Christmas Hope books. In an effort to keep busy and to help others in lieu of helping her son, she collects and sorts donations of food, clothing, household items, and even the occasional car, which she them redistributes to the needy in the community. I have to say that Gloria has my dream job. Being a philanthropist is something I've always longed to do. Gloria is a very kind-hearted and loving woman who cares about everyone she meets and helps, maybe a little too much, as it takes her a while to figure out that she can't always help everyone in the way she would like to. Still she is generous to a fault with the only possible exception being her next-door neighbor Miriam. The woman is something of a snob, who always threatens to call the city on Gloria each time someone leaves donations in her driveway. Even Miriam has her own story though. Gloria just hasn't heard it yet. They've spent so long as rivals, she hasn't really taken the time to get to know the other woman, but that all changes when an unfortunate incident leaves the two of them living together temporarily. It was really fun to see these two develop an appreciation for one another and a deep friendship after feuding for so long.Then there is Chaz who just moved to town and got a job as a security guard at Wilson's Department Store. At first, he's very much a loner and a drifter, who only intends to stay long enough to earn a little money. He obviously harbors some secrets he doesn't want anyone else to know and on top of it all, is a functioning alcoholic who spends all his free time at the bottom of a bottle. He isn't exactly the most likable character initially, but things begin to slowly change for him as he discovers a caring side to himself he didn't realize existed. He works the night shift, and the turnaround starts with him caring for the little boy of a cleaning lady, who had nowhere else to take him and so brought him with her to work. Chaz develops a strong friendship with the little boy, Donovan, and to the extent she will let him into her life, the boy's mother, Carla, who is being abused by her boyfriend. Chaz also begins to feel a connection to Mike, the homeless man who sometimes stands outside Wilson's, and worries when Mike is hit by a car. Last but not least, Chaz falls in love at first sight with Erin, a pretty but very pregnant young woman who Gloria is helping.What impressed me most about The Christmas Promise is how the author manged to seamlessly weave together all the lives of these characters until it was like they became one family unit. She even brought back a few favorites from past books like Robert Layton (The Christmas Shoes) and Jack and Nathan Andrews (The Christmas Hope). The Christmas Promise was very much a story of new beginnings. Each one of the characters in the book received some sort of second chance after life had thrown them a curveball. This time they chose the right path, but it wasn't without the help of strangers. The one thing I loved most about this book is the serendipitous nature of the characters' meetings which underscores the It's a Wonderful Life principle that each person's life touches so many others in ways that we often don't even know. The Christmas Promise is simply a warm, feel-good story that was a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.
    • 5/5
      Another heartwarming Christmas Story by Donna VanLiere. Gloria, also known as Miss Glory works with the homeless and/or single parent, low income families. She teaches classes, takes in donations that she later passes out and offers more than just her moral support. These people are like family to her. Her husband died 7 years earlier and her youngest son left home a week before he died. She still leaves the porch light on for him. We meet her surly, uppity neighbour Miriam, a young homeless pregnant woman named Erin, an alcoholic young drifter named Chaz, a battered woman and her young son as well as a homeless man named Mike among others. Can Christmas bring a miracle to the many people Miss Glory touches? Brings a tear to the eye.
    • 5/5
      The Christmas promise by Donna VanLiereLove how each chapter starts out with words of wisdom from other famous people-touching!Starts out with the past when she lost her son and husband within a few short weeks of one another.Grace will prevail. Story then goes back a year and we find Gloria and she's been a widow for 7 years cleaning out a frigerator that one has dropped off in her driveway.She cleans it out and then donaes it to another in town who is in need of one=she has contact with a church in town.Love hearing of how things work in this town-it's a community effort.She gets others in town to donate huge boxes of clothes to those in need and she loves that she's able to do this for others.Love memory of Mt. St. Helens as we've visited there-new life all around.Like hearing from the author herself about how this book and series came about. Books that help others, they reach out to you.Love the characters and how they turn out during the Christmas stories. Promise of love and grace that makes Christmas.From NLS for my BARD
    • 4/5
      The Christmas Promise is the second audiobook by Donna VanLiere that I have enjoyed this Christmas. (I am currently listening to number 3, The Christmas Note.) Full of humor and heart, this book’s message of second chances is front and center, whether it’s a grumpy neighbor or an estranged family member or a mom who has made some bad choices. Familiar characters from this series make an appearance making them feel like old friends. VanLiere reads the book herself, and her voices and inflection are a real treat. I listened to this book on a few daily walks and on two plane flights, and I must admit I had to stifle a few laughs and squint back a few tears. This heartwarming novella is perfect for the busy holiday season when time is short and nerves get a bit frazzled. So make sure to make some time for this touching book.Recommended.Audience: adults.
    • 4/5
      Seven years ago, Gloria Bailey suffered a devastating family tragedy that almost took away her faith completely; as it was, Gloria's idyllically happy life was shaken down to its very foundation. Since then, she has struggled to comprehend the reason why her life was turned upside down; and to somehow find the strength of will to carry on. Each Christmas she places a card inside an envelope on her tree, acknowledging and solemnly restating a promise she had made to her husband just before his death.Now, having moved from her small town and all the painful memories it held, she is slowly building a new life for herself by helping those in need. Whether it's a young mother who can't pay her electricity bill or a family who needs some extra food, Gloria always finds a way to be of service. She seems to have found her life's purpose again, and Gloria is - if not living the type of life that she had once envisioned - at least living a tentatively pleasurable life.Gloria's faith is also slowly being rekindled; faith in herself and faith in others. Then, there is Miriam Lloyd Davies, Gloria's elderly neighbor. Gloria is convinced that Miriam is a thorn in her side: a constant annoyance that Gloria does her best to avoid at all costs. Miriam is constantly critical; a disapproving and mean-spirited neighbor who looks with suspicion at all the good things that Gloria does. When a twist of fate makes the women roommates instead of neighbors, it is the ultimate test of patience and faith.Chaz McConnell has a really good job as head of security for Wilson's Department Store, but he is also terribly lonely; returning home each night to his empty apartment. He longs for a wife and family of his own but also realizes that the choices that he has made in life have alienated him. He soon befriends a young boy whose mother has fallen on hard times, allowing Chaz the chance to have the sort of life he once thought impossible.In The Christmas Promise: A Novel, the lives of all these characters collide and we learn that the past is never far behind, even as we move ahead. And when we are forgiven much, we love much. In this warmly humorous and deeply poignant story, we are reminded that the ultimate Christmas Promise is the promise of second chances.I had read and enjoyed one of Donna VanLiere's previous books, The Angels of Morgan Hill, back in February of 2012. In my opinion, The Christmas Promise: A Novel was really quite good; a quick and engaging read that I enjoyed very much. I found this to be a feel-good story; touching and sweet and truly heart-warming. The story's plot may have been slightly far-fetched, but I still found it enjoyable. I give this book a B+!
    • 4/5
      This charming tale with a Christmas setting is sure delight all those who enjoy stories with happy endings, even if the way there is fraught with bumps along the way. Some plots twists add to the interest of the tale, made all the better by the well-executed reading by the author in this audio version. You might think you have it all figured out, but you may be surprised after all. A well-told story, and not just for the Christmas season.
    • 5/5
      This is book 4 in this series. This book tell the story of Gloria and the lady that lives next door to her. Miriam is also a widow.. but she is from a high class of people she thinks. After Miriam stays with Gloria and is made to help with her charity work , helping people who have less find what they need ,be it clothes, jobs,fridges,cars and even babysits for the families .. if any one has it to give they give it to "Miss Glory" and she and her friends see to it .. it goes to a family in need. In this book Gloria get a big shock one night when an unexpected person comes to her to door to check on Donvan ( the son of one of the people she helps)