Synopses & Reviews
In 1969, William Foster, Sr., a thirty-three-year-old army reserve soldier, is lost in action in Vietnam. He leaves behind his beloved wife, Sarah Ann; a six-year-old daughter, Lila; and a thirteen-year-old son, Will, Jr. They live in a trailer on the coast of Maine, and parked beside the trailer is their father's beautiful but unreliable lobster boat, the "Sarah Ann." The "Sarah Ann's" graceful curves and beautiful wood are a painful daily reminder of Will Sr.'s plans and dreams -- dreams now lost with him.
The December afternoons are lonely and dark for Lila and Will, who must come home alone from school while their mother works. They get scared when they find evidence that someone has been visiting the trailer, and when they come home to find a rugged, cantankerous, somewhat smelly old man watching TV, it takes them a while to realize he's...Santa Claus. What Santa does with the lobster boat and how he handles Will's one and only Christmas dream -- to have his dad back -- is the story of "The Boat of Dreams." It brings laughter, surprises, and tears and tells through an unforgettable story how love is the one power that can overcome all.
The story behind "The Boat of Dreams"
I wrote "The Boat of Dreams" just for one person, a lifelong friend who was dying of breast cancer, leaving behind a husband and a five-year-old daughter. I had nothing to give my friend except a story. I wrote it in a white heat, racing against her illness, in the hope of lifting her spirits and helping her to laugh and be moved. I wanted to say, through the simple power of a story, that love is the only thing that can triumph over all.
After she died, at Christmas 2000, I published "The Boatof Dreams" privately as a Christmas gift for my friends and her family. Now it is being published for everyone. My hope is that readers will give "The Boat of Dreams" as a gift in the spirit in which it was written, in friendship and love.
Richard Preston
The author is dedicating a portion of his proceeds from this book to medical research in the Women's Cancers Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Synopsis
In 1969, William Foster, Sr., a thirty-three-year-old army reserve soldier, is lost in action in Vietnam. He leaves behind his beloved wife, Sarah Ann; a six-year-old daughter, Lila; and a thirteen-year-old son, Will, Jr. They live in a trailer on the coast of Maine, and parked beside the trailer is their father's beautiful but unreliable lobster boat, the
Sarah Ann. The
Sarah Ann's graceful curves and beautiful wood are a painful daily reminder of Will Sr.'s plans and dreams -- dreams now lost with him.
The December afternoons are lonely and dark for Lila and Will, who must come home alone from school while their mother works. They get scared when they find evidence that someone has been visiting the trailer, and when they come home to find a rugged, cantankerous, somewhat smelly old man watching TV, it takes them a while to realize he's...Santa Claus.
What Santa does with the lobster boat and how he handles Will's one and only Christmas dream -- to have his dad back -- is the story of The Boat of Dreams. It brings laughter, surprises, and tears and tells through an unforgettable story how love is the one power that can overcome all.
About the Author
Richard Preston is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Cobra Event and The Demon in the Freezer. A writer for The New Yorker since 1985, Preston won the American Institute of Physics award and is the only nondoctor ever to have received the CDC's Champion of Prevention award. He has an asteroid named after him and lives outside of New York City.