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NashuaDW

(90 posts)

28. The Secret Gift -- Ted Gup

Reply to Manifestor_of_Light (Reply #27)

Tue Oct 28, 2014, 07:00 PM

Oct 2014

A true story of one man's incredible generosity during the depression and how it changed generations.
The descriptions of how people struggled during the depression in their own words is tear jerking beyond belief.

"In hard economic times like these, readers will find bestselling author Ted Gup's unique book uplifting as well as captivating. Inside a suitcase kept in his mother's attic, Gup discovered letters written to his grandfather in response to an ad placed in a Canton, Ohio, newspaper in 1933 that offered cash to seventy-five families facing a devastating Christmas. The author travels coast to coast to unveil the lives behind the letters, describing a range of hardships and recreating in his research the hopes and suffering of Depression-era Americans, even as he uncovers the secret life led by the grandfather he thought he knew."

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Did you ever read a book that broke your heart? [View all] Paper Roses Oct 2014 OP

Fiction or nonfiction? Of nonfiction, I read an account of closeupready Oct 2014 #1

And the colonization and its effects has not near ended. "Black Like Me", the book, is of the same Fred Sanders Oct 2014 #2

The horrible way the Native Indian was treated is non-fiction. War criminals and crimes against Fred Sanders Oct 2014 #3

I meant, with regard to the question in the thread title. closeupready Oct 2014 #4

Plenty - Where the Red Fern Grows. Rex Oct 2014 #5

i have read many like that JI7 Oct 2014 #6

Probably one of the greatest books ever written. topological Oct 2014 #7

Grapes of Wrath nt PufPuf23 Oct 2014 #8

Johnny Got His Gun, by Dalton Trumbo. 11 Bravo Oct 2014 #9

plenty GusBob Oct 2014 #10

"The Married Man," Edmund White shenmue Oct 2014 #11

what a book! G_j Oct 2014 #12

Thanks! I've not read it yet &... Little Star Oct 2014 #13

Island of the blue dolphins... lame54 Oct 2014 #14

Lee Ioccca - Where Have All the Leaders Gone? TheNutcracker Oct 2014 #15

'Night' --Elie Wiesel panader0 Oct 2014 #16

"On The Beach". Aristus Oct 2014 #17

The Bible FrodosPet Oct 2014 #18

Long Time Passing riverwalker Oct 2014 #19

Survival at Auschwitz thucythucy Oct 2014 #20

Marley and Me. :o(( Snarkoleptic Oct 2014 #21

As a child, Charlottes Web. My mom thought I was badly hurt, was crying so hard, finally I managedt uppityperson Oct 2014 #22

I agree with your assessment, Paper Roses. summerschild Oct 2014 #23

JFK and the Unspeakable by James W. Douglass Boomerproud Oct 2014 #24

'NO NO Boy' by John Okada Tikki Oct 2014 #25

OMG moonbeam23 Oct 2014 #26

The Cider House Rules, by John Irving. Manifestor_of_Light Oct 2014 #27

The Secret Gift -- Ted Gup NashuaDW Oct 2014 #28

Her by Christa Parravani mythology Oct 2014 #29

That movie of the novel changed my way of thinking for the rest of my life riverbendviewgal Oct 2014 #30

Great book! The Road by Cormac McCarthy is another good one. nt Mojorabbit Oct 2014 #31

I read both 'OTB" and 'The Road' at one sitting each. Aristus Oct 2014 #32

Many of the books my fellow commenters are listing I have read too riverbendviewgal Oct 2014 #33

In Jr. High loyalsister Oct 2014 #34

I was left literally stunned after reading it. I read a lot and Mojorabbit Oct 2014 #35

I saw your thread title Shankapotomus Oct 2014 #36

Before I clicked into your OP chowder66 Oct 2014 #37

That book killed me. Blue_In_AK Oct 2014 #38

I don't remember if I cried for "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," but it made me very angry. tclambert Oct 2014 #39

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and The Road by Cormac McCarthy and The Red Pony Arugula Latte Oct 2014 #40

Tale of Two Cities AngryAmish Oct 2014 #41

Yep, it's an unrelenting account of US history Aldo Leopold Oct 2014 #42

Still traumatized. Barack_America Oct 2014 #43

Of Mice and Men did it for me. I was rooting for them so hard. Rex Oct 2014 #44

+1 Tom Ripley Oct 2014 #45

"The Great Shame" by Thomas Keneally and "Black Cargoes" by Daniel P. Mannix n/t FSogol Oct 2014 #46

McCarthy's "No Country For Old Men" (upon which the Coen Brothers film by the KingCharlemagne Oct 2014 #47

Thanks! I will pick that one up. nt Mojorabbit Oct 2014 #48

I vote for the Book of Job. God and Satan wagering on the loyalty of poor old Job. He finally KingCharlemagne Oct 2014 #49

I read it in college years ago TNNurse Oct 2014 #50

I read that book between high school and college albino65 Oct 2014 #51

Brokeback Mountain. So sad. vanlassie Oct 2014 #52

Of course three is this part..which you never hear the right wing quote.. KinMd Oct 2014 #53

I read "Bury" in high school many, many years ago. I think I'm going to be re-reading it shortly, KingCharlemagne Oct 2014 #54

The right wing seems focused almost exclusively on Leviticus, with a sprinkle of KingCharlemagne Oct 2014 #55

Love that myself:) KinMd Oct 2014 #56

Don't want to derail this thread, but when you talk with them at any length, you can tell KingCharlemagne Oct 2014 #57

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. kaiden Oct 2014 #58

Broke my heart pertilotte Oct 2014 #59

Gilda Radner's It's Always Something Brother Buzz Oct 2014 #60

Rise The Euphrates missingthebigdog Oct 2014 #61

"The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro. Just so sad. Can't describe it easily. - nt KingCharlemagne Oct 2014 #62

My wife endorses your mention of 'Charlotte's Web.' She says it was her favorite book as a child KingCharlemagne Oct 2014 #63

As a child, I read Black Beauty and cried and hid the book. n/t RebelOne Oct 2014 #64

Where the Red Fern Grows. eom freeplessinseattle Oct 2014 #65

I remember thinking, why did my teachers suggest that traumatic book? freeplessinseattle Oct 2014 #66

"The Wolf," which I read in 5th grade... a la izquierda Oct 2014 #67

no doubt hfojvt Oct 2014 #68

One of the greatest classes Iwillnevergiveup Oct 2014 #69

The Appeal by John Grisham Staph Oct 2014 #70

Atrocities all around, except the land belonged to the natives, to the victor go the spoils of war, Fred Sanders Oct 2014 #71

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn smirkymonkey Oct 2014 #72

Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1933-1945 Nye Bevan Oct 2014 #73

Bury my heart took me a long time hfojvt Oct 2014 #74

If you include NON-fiction, as in "history," there's really no end, is there? WinkyDink Oct 2014 #75

I know it is cheesy, but "Bridges of Madison County." It caught me by surprise at how much Hestia Oct 2014 #76

Mine followed it up with an in-class showing of the movie... Barack_America Oct 2014 #77

Steinbeck books should come with a warning label. Barack_America Oct 2014 #78

The Art of Racing in the Rain. Mz Pip Oct 2014 #79

Wonderful book. Mz Pip Oct 2014 #80

I was just thinking about that book... bhikkhu Oct 2014 #81

All Quiet on the Western Front A Little Weird Oct 2014 #82

on which land? hfojvt Oct 2014 #83

that one did it for me too KT2000 Oct 2014 #84

The Kryptonite Kid by Joesph Torchia enigmatic Oct 2014 #85

Perhaps, but it's truer than YOU think tkmorris Oct 2014 #86

Yes. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. sueh Oct 2014 #87

I read that book many, many years ago. Are_grits_groceries Oct 2014 #88

that was one of our silent reading books in the fifth grade fizzgig Oct 2014 #89

Marley and me! I sobbed like a four year pnwest Oct 2014 #90

Great book! nt Mojorabbit Oct 2014 #91

That was the book I thought of when I saw your thread title, actually (n/t) Spider Jerusalem Oct 2014 #92

Great mention. I felt the same way. (nt) Inkfreak Oct 2014 #93

Art of Racing... mnhtnbb Oct 2014 #94

Anything where some poor much loved animal dies at the end. bklyncowgirl Oct 2014 #95

Flowers for Algernon. True Blue Door Oct 2014 #96

Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman deutsey Oct 2014 #97

Distant Land of My Father JonLP24 Oct 2014 #98

It sounds silly, but a children's book: Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch. Tommy_Carcetti Oct 2014 #99

I loved that book... Phentex Oct 2014 #100

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter... Phentex Oct 2014 #101

So many as I am an avid reader - JustAnotherGen Oct 2014 #102

Sarkhan by Eugene Burdick. RoverSuswade Oct 2014 #103

Oh gawd, I could hardly read that one to my kids. Arugula Latte Oct 2014 #104

Read it, it's excellent Prophet 451 Oct 2014 #105

I never was able to UglyGreed Oct 2014 #106

I read it about 10 years ago and it did arthritisR_US Oct 2014 #107

"101 Things You Can Do to Help the Animals" by PETA. CrispyQ Oct 2014 #108

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Rocket_Scientist65 Oct 2014 #109

The first book my mother ever gave me...."Black Beauty" Rowdyboy Oct 2014 #110

The Cider House Rules, by John Irving is one of our favorites. Enthusiast Nov 2014 #111

Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee is one of a few books that I have read twice. Enthusiast Nov 2014 #112

I wouldn't say a book broke my heart, but theaocp Nov 2014 #113

I read Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee many years ago. RebelOne Nov 2014 #114