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Story Behind the Reflection and Discussion Guide

After my first book, Bent Hope, was released, I was quite surprised by two things. Pleasantly surprised, I am happy to say—but surprised all the same. First of all, I had not anticipated the amount of feedback I would get from readers who were taking the book on slowly and thoughtfully, committing themselves to single chapters at a time with a day, or often several days, of reflection in between. Secondly, I was taken aback by the number of small groups, books clubs and classrooms (both faith-based and non) that were processing the material with follow-up discussion sessions. I thought it was a sweet anomaly, owing perhaps to the unique subject matter—until the release of my follow-up book, Dancing with Dynamite, when the same things occurred.

Before I began working on the third book in the series, The Yuletide Factor, I spent much time considering how the previous ones were processed by individual readers and groups and how I might better facilitate these activities moving forward. It became clear to me that the nature and style of the books I was writing were lending themselves to pauses for emotional and spiritual reflection and lively discussion: story-driven, with equal parts sentimentality, social commentary, history, and pop culture, while ultimately asking, If there is a loving God, where is He in all of this?

By this point in my journey, I had also written and illustrated my first two children’s books—The Cardboard Shack Beneath the Bridge: Helping Children Understand Homelessness and It’s Hard Not to Stare: Helping Children Understand Disabilities—and included discussion guides for parents and educators as parts of those books. The feedback around that was, and is, very positive and encouraging.

Taking all these things into account, I became excited about the notion of creating a special complementary component to this book. Something that might be used to help readers unpack thoughts and emotions, whether alone, with a friend, or as part of a group if they choose to.

At the same time, I was quite sure it would be best to bring someone else on board to make it so. As I state in the prologue of this book, “I wanted to be sure that things ultimately turn back to you, the reader, and wanted to have someone else bring a fresh voice to guide things accordingly.”

It is by no means “too much” that I have boasted about Anne Brandner’s contribution to The Yuletide Factor in both the author’s acknowledgement and the prologue of this book. Should you choose to receive her comments and questions for personal reflection or use them for group discussion, I am confident you will find her warm tone and insights very meaningful in the material that accompanies each chapter.

Anne and I, and all the contributors to this book, share a sincere hope and heartfelt prayer that you, dear readers, would be blessed, esteemed and encouraged by what you find in these pages and where your own reflections and discussions lead you.

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Anne Brandner has worked in the field of international religious freedom and human rights for nearly 15 years. After completing an internship with the International Justice Mission in Washington, DC, in 2001, Anne earned her MA in political science, where she examined the pursuit of justice and reconciliation after the Rwandan genocide. It was during that time that Anne developed a deep and lasting interest in the value of apology, forgiveness and reconciliation in the wake of conflict and mass atrocities. Anne has worked in a number of policy and advocacy roles, engaging on issues including extreme poverty, religious persecution and refugee protection. Most recently, Anne worked as director of policy and international relations for a Toronto-based foundation and served on the international leadership team of the Religious Liberty Partnership. Anne’s work has taken her around the world, from refugee camps on the Eritrea-Ethiopia border to the US State Department, from the streets of Hong Kong to the United Nations Human Rights Council. With an undergraduate degree in communications, Anne currently works as a freelance writer and editor. She lives in Toronto with her husband, Paul, and their awesome kids.