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My Most Cherished Memories
The Christmas Lesson: Unwrapping Love and Family follows a young boy searching for his holiday gifts who is discovered by his grandmother and learns the true meaning of the holiday from her. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
My grandmother, Granny held a special place in my heart. She wasn’t just a grandmother; she was my best friend. Our shared love for Christmas created some of my most cherished memories. The essence of Christmas, to me, was always about spending quality time with her, whether it was decorating the house or simply having conversations about life in general.
I felt a deep desire to honor our bond, but finding the right way proved challenging over the years. It wasn’t until I noticed the increased commercialization of Christmas, with stores jumping into the festive spirit as early as October, that inspiration struck. Witnessing this trend, which seemed to overshadow Thanksgiving and dilute the true spirit of Christmas, motivated me to do my part in taking action. That’s when I decided to channel my feelings into writing a book, The Christmas Lesson: Unwrapping Love and Family. Through it, I aim to pay tribute to Granny and, more importantly, remind readers of the meaning of Christmas.
When you think about the holidays, what is your favorite childhood memory that always brings a smile to your face?
The Tanglewood Festival of Lights holds a reputation as one of the premier holiday light shows in North Carolina. Granny and I had always planned to attend, but her fear of riding on the highway, given its 45-minute distance from our home, kept us from making the trip. Instead, we created our own tradition, exploring various parts of the city and delighting in the local Christmas light displays. Those moments, filled with oohs and ahhs, forged a deep connection between us.
Despite numerous invitations from friends to visit Tanglewood over the years, I consistently declined or came up with an excuse, holding out for the day I could share it with Granny. Sadly, that day never came as she passed away on November 4, 2010. It wasn’t until December 2016, when my daughter Haelee was nine, that I finally experienced Tanglewood for the first time. The beauty of the lights left both of us utterly amazed. Keyshia Cole’s song “Sent From Heaven” began to play on the radio just as we pulled up. Tears welled up in my eyes as I felt Granny’s presence with us as Haelee stared out the window in amazement. It became clear to me that my first visit to Tanglewood wasn’t meant to be with Granny and I, it was meant to be a shared experience with Granny, Haelee, and myself.
What message do you hope children and families take away from your story?
The underlying message is that the true gift of the season lies in moments shared with family while honoring Gods sacrifices in Christian households like mine. A similar sentiment holds true for non-Christian households, in that The Christmas Lesson emphasizes that the most valuable gifts life offers are the love that exudes from family and friends.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
The title is still in the works but Lamar will return in an upcoming book that focuses on mental health in children. The release date and title are uncertain because my current focus is on supporting Haelee. We’re collaborating on her debut poetry book. My goal in that sense is to ensure that her poetry book takes center stage as we enter 2024, particularly since it marks our first attempt at such a project.
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The Christmas Lesson: Unwrapping Love and Family
In The Christmas Lesson: Unwrapping Love and Family, author Dedrick Moone weaves a delightful narrative around Lamar, a young boy brimming with curiosity and a penchant for playful mischief. Set against the backdrop of the festive Christmas season, this children’s picture book captures the essence of a child’s excitement and eagerness to uncover hidden holiday gifts. The story takes a meaningful turn when Lamar’s grandmother observes his quest and decides to impart the true essence of the holiday.
Moone’s tale is beautifully complemented by vivid illustrations, making it an engaging read for young audiences. The book’s charm lies in its ability to resonate with the childlike wonder surrounding Christmas. The narrative is further enriched by Moone’s skillful depiction of the holiday atmosphere in Lamar’s home, from the cheerful Christmas tunes to the eye-catching decorations and the enticing aroma of freshly baked cookies. The character of Lamar’s grandmother is particularly noteworthy. She embodies wisdom and gently guides Lamar, teaching him a valuable lesson about the significance of love and family during the festive season. This aspect of the story provides a heartwarming portrayal of intergenerational bonding and the passing down of important values.
The Christmas Lesson stands out as an ideal read for young children, especially during the holiday season. It not only entertains but also educates, subtly instilling the true spirit of Christmas—focusing on love, togetherness, and the joy of giving. This book is a wonderful tool for parents and educators to engage children in a meaningful conversation about the deeper aspects of holiday celebrations.
Pages: 27 | ASIN : B0CNL2B9SF
A Gift Especially For Her
Dear Daughter: A Love Story follows your early years raising your daughter. I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
Let me start by thanking you for taking the time to review Dear Daughter and providing such a comprehensive review. Having said that, let me also add that I needed you all to do what you’ve done here in providing an editorial review because my own self-doubts were the most difficult part about writing the book. I had self-doubts because while I’ve written two books previously, they were co-authored projects by and large. With that being the case I had someone to lean on in my writing process whether that be my daughter, Haelee or a friend like Genesis Amaris Kemp or Shanique MJ Davis etc. Dear Daughter on the other hand was my first time writing alone and I was afraid to release it. The reason being is that I’m not a classically trained author but a writer instead or rather an engineer who knows how to write effectively. While I know how to write effectively, I didn’t believe that I was capable of writing in a language that children and young adults could understand. Haelee helped me calm my fears in part by telling me that she was the only person that needed to like it because Dear Daughter was a gift especially for her. While she was right, it still wasn’t enough to fully get over my fears and gain my confidence. That is until you all reviewed it and shared that you loved it. And I thank you for that.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your story?
I would want them to realize that sometimes we have to suffer so that we can be blessed or rather be a blessing to someone else down the road. To be specific I had to suffer somewhat as a child in not knowing my truth or having a relationship with my father so that my future daughter could be blessed. I was blessed because I was able to see the world through the eyes of my Granny in being primarily raised through her. But not only that, I gained perspective on how to be and how not to be as a parent were I to ever have children. Those things in and of themselves have allowed me to be a blessing to my daughter but also for her to be a blessing to me. God had the foresight and wherewithal to see things down the road that I could not have possibly fathomed. With that being the case, I want people to simply trust God and know that he’s the best Dad that anyone could ever ask for.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Well I’d be getting out ahead of myself a little bit in fully answering this question so I’ll keep it brief in saying that I’m working on a similar project for boys and that Dear Daughter might be the first in a series.
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This is his third published book so be sure to collect them all and be on the lookout for additional books and literary pieces from this dynamic author in the future. Please also be sure to share your thoughts via a book review on whatever platform you purchased this book on.
War of Strong Wills
The Unexpected Journey: Fire and Gold details the obstacles you faced trying to protect and provide for your daughter. Why was this an important book for you to write?
It was important for me to share our story because I encountered several parents over the past few years who’s children were victims of sexual assault and rampant bullying. Some of those parents did all that they could to protect their children only to lose them to suicide. Other parents followed a path similar to myself in going through all of the proper channels of authority only for the systems to fail them. Some of those children committed suicide too while others became addicted to drugs and alcohol in an effort to numb their pain. Another subset of parents simply didn’t know what to do and they desperately cried out for help. I helped as many of them as I could on a one to one basis but I found that it wasn’t effective enough. I truly needed to elevate my voice and expose Haelee and myself to help the most people.
Moving along, Haelee published a book entitled The Rules of a Big Boss: A book of self-love on June 25, 2020. That book is a self-help manual for young and adult women to maximize higher levels of self esteem. She was very transparent in it in recounting her issues with low self-esteem, sexual assault, etc and how she overcame it all. People that read it clamored for me to share the rest of the story from my perspective. I was reluctant to do so initially because I wanted to save everything for a future autobiography that she and I would write. COVID and being unemployed allowed a lot of free time hence I decided to share a portion of that future autobiography in the form of a memoir with hopes to help others in their journey particularly those that are struggling with anxiety and depression. I will be submitting that book for a Literary Titan Review within the coming weeks.
You wrote this book with your daughter. What was the writing collaboration process like?
The collaboration process involved a little bickering back and forth between us because I speak one way and she speaks another (Ref: Venus vs Mars). We resultantly had a few starts and stops so that cooler heads could prevail in our tug of war of strong wills. I’m happy that we went through it however because the entire writing experience actually bonded us closer than we were before.
What were some ideas that were important for you to explore in this book?
The most important idea was that Fire has three purposes. It can be used to cook, burn, or give light. Cooking is obvious so I won’t get into that. The burning process is important to note however because we all go through trials and tribulations in life. Those trials and tribulations will burn us if we lose sight of God in the experience. Fire will purify us and light our path however if we keep our eyes focused on Him. In so doing He will allow us to walk out of the fire as he did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We will come out as purified Gold when it’s all over. Given those sentiments we should never give up on the journey. We should fight forward knowing that our pain has a purpose. The end result of that purpose will be precious to behold.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
My daughter is the one true gift that I have short of my salvation in Christ. With that being said, I felt like I was going to lose her every day to either suicide or murder. I thought that I had moved past the trauma but some of it still lingers. I literally burst into tears with each keystroke as I recounted the horrors of that portion of the story. I got stuck there and almost gave up the writing process because it was so painful. My friends Kiescha Cherry, Genesis Amaris Kemp, and my editor, Shanique MJ Davis helped me push that pain point however in reminding me that our story needed to be told so that it could help others.
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LITERARY TITAN 