“Successful people make their decisions quickly and change their minds slowly. Failures make their decisions slowly and change their minds quickly.”
David Ponder doesn’t know what else could go wrong in his life – so much already has. He was let go from his lifelong career and has just recently been fired from the job at the hardware store. His daughter is sick and there is no money for the surgery she needs. He has no hope and doesn’t know which way to turn. So, he goes for a drive and drives faster and faster until the car loses control on a bridge and careens toward a tree. When David wakes up, he is no longer in his car, but has traveled to a different time altogether. The man he meets assures him that he is not dead, but has been chosen to travel through time to learn some important lessons to pass on to all mankind.
A friend recommended The Traveler’s Gift to me and I immediately put it on hold through my local library to check out the ebook. It was available in just two weeks. It is a very quick read and the plot is very interesting.
David meets Abraham Lincoln, Anne Frank, King Solomon and Harry Truman, among others, as he gathers the seven life lessons. He learns about accepting responsibility, choosing happiness, seeking wisdom and being a person of action. Each person hands him a hand-written note to read and carry with him when he goes back to his life. After meeting all seven people, he wakes up in a hospital bed and thinks it has all been a dream. When he gets his belongings back from the accident, he makes a remarkable discovery that changes his view of what really happened.
The Traveler’s Gift is in the genre that I like to call modern-day fables. It is a story that tells a lesson. Several Mitch Albom books are in this genre, along with The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I enjoy reading those kind of books as I feel they stay with me longer because I’m pondering over the lesson the book was trying to teach.
Do you enjoy modern-day fables? If so, share your favorite in the comments!
Buy The Traveler’s Gift here (affiliate link).
