Gifts Not Yet Given (and Other Tales of the Holidays)

From award-winning author Kergan Edwards-Stout comes fourteen tales designed to delight and enthrall. In Gifts Not Yet Given, a warm and nuanced collection of short stories, dreams are realized, hope is found, memories are made, and life is treasured. Each is set around a holiday, from Halloween to Memorial Day, Thanksgiving to Christmas, and the tales illuminate the small, surprising, and pivotal moments in which personal awakenings occur and hearts expand. In Gifts Not Yet Given, you’ll find yourself inspired by the magic of the holidays, touched by our shared humanity, and moved by the simple pleasures found in life’s many unexpected moments."Gifts Not Given is a wonderful collection of stories from Kergan Edwards-Stout in which each story centers around a holiday. The stories are complex, surprising, touching and written with compassion and humanity, two qualities sadly lacking in so much contemporary fiction. I highly recommend Gifts Not Given and thank the author for this gift he has given us." Michael Nava, winner of six Lambda Literary Awards as well as the Bill Whitehead Literary Award for Career Achievement“The stories in Gifts Not Yet Given are vital, essential and remind us that much of human life is gained or lost through family. Edwards-Stout shines a light on contemporary life with skill and wit. A dynamic and engaging read.” Trebor Healey, two-time Ferro-Grumley Fiction Award winner, A Horse Named Sorrow and Through It Came Bright Colors"Kergan Edwards-Stout's stories are muscular, funny, sad and an antidote to holiday treacle, no matter the holiday. His writing is fueled by an original mix of compassion and rage. Several of the stories left me in tears, which certainly beats being left in tears by my own family at holiday time. Which means: he understands family, and the often crossed wires of family love. You will want to give his book as a gift." Richard Kramer, novelist, These Things Happen Read more