Don't Look Back by Phil Servary, illustrated by Joel Pellerin

About Book

Don’t Look Back is about Curtis’ journey to find two special people who could give him the gift that could not be found under any Christmas tree.

Don’t Look Back is a moving tale that follows this shy little boy after his heartbreaking separation from his family through the time he spent in various orphanages waiting for that special gift to come. Curtis’ last Christmas in an orphanage was memorable because all he would receive was a beautiful empty box. Deep in his heart this didn’t matter because the only gift he really wanted was a mom and a dad.

Discover, contrast and appreciate the sacrifices your parents make for you every day and heighten your faith in God, in your family and in yourself.

Read Excerpt here.

Published by Xlibris

Published:

8/30/2012

Format:

Perfect Bound Softcover

Pages:

24

Size:

8.5x11

ISBN:

978-1-47714-696-5

Print Type:

Color

Where to buy the book: Xlibris Bookstore, Amazon, Barnes&Noble

About Author 
“As an orphan, I never experienced any type of security. As a small child in a strange environment, I faced many fears. Slowly my fears faded and in retrospect, they made me resilient, gave me character, and the drive, to succeed. Later, some extraordinary people guided me towards my goals. They set me on a path to become a fifth grade teacher, high school lacrosse coach and a school administrator. They are all gone now, but they knew how much I loved them and valued their advice. Now retired, with my wife of 35 years, we live in a log cabin, on a secluded mountain in Pennsylvania, with our dogs Koko and Cheech and our crazy cat, Izzy. The seasons are beautiful here. We love the outdoors, especially the mountain trails.  It is a quiet place, and a peaceful place to reflect.”  – Phil Servary

My Thoughts

This is a heartbreaking story of a little boy three years old almost four.  His father has just died and his mother is trying to keep her family together. But times are hard and she has six children to provide for. She finally realizes she can not give her children the care they need.  She takes the youngest four to an orphanage in hopes they find parents that will be able to provide for them.  

This story is about the oldest of those four youngest of the six children.  He became very shy and stays to himself not trusting anyone.  Within a three year period he made one friend and lost that friend when he was moved to another orphanage, then yet another. After being moved to the fourth and final establishment he became shy and stayed to himself again. But this place was different and he got to meet couples that were interested in adoption.  At Christmas everyone got a gift.  He had never gotten a Christmas gift before this was something new for him.  But they had not expected him though he did not notice and played with the empty boxes especial a pretty red box with a big red bow on top. When one of the workers asked what he would really like for Christmas he said a Mother and Father, his very own parent's.

This was a very touching story and it flows with emotion.  The illustrations are vintage in appearance and they remind me of Norman Rockwell Paintings.  

The author was an orphan and was adopted by loving parent's that not only provided him the nourishment he needed they also nurtured his mind and spirit.  They guided him into manhood and taught him to love and worship God.  

So many people take for granted God's gift of loving parent's.  There are so many children without parents. 

I highly recommend this book.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of this book from Author Solutions for review.  I was in no way compensated for this review.  It is my honest opinion.