The Thursday Night club and other stories by Steven Manchester
Have read other works by this author and have enjoyed them all immensely.
This collection of holiday stories will reach age group. Talks of times when things were simpler and not as commercialized as the holidays are today.
Love memories of visiting the shrine with all the lights, right at dusk and everything goes quiet as the lights go on. Slow down and enjoy the reason for the season.
Also up the road to the railroad and ferris wheel where weather is always 10 degrees colder there than anywhere else. We have recently visited these places doing research of things to do when grandchildren visit.
I love that the author can bring you into the book with such detail you can picture it all in your head. Love additional, new to me holiday stories because they also bring up great memories of caroling around the relatives house each year where we'd bring our own musical instruments of a pot with a spoon to bang on while we all sang. We'd stop in for a cookie and milk then all would leave to go to the next house.
Have to bring the newer generations up to speed because it's all about the simple easy things.
Loved all the books equally as each will bring a smile to your face. This author knows how to write and can't wait to read the new stories.
Received a review copy from the author and this is my honest review.

Gooseberry Island by Steven Manchester gave me a new understanding of P.T.S.D. afflicted soldiers. I now see just how deep the wounds can go when they have to go against everything inside of them all to obey a command.

David McClain is an army ranger who is looking to settle down & start a family after his final tour with the United States Army Rangers. After advice from his trusted friend Captain Eli he issues his request to the Heavens. So when his answer Lindsey Wood literally runs right into him while jogging he couldn’t believe the horrible timing.

Lindsey whose father Denis Wood is suffering P.T.S.D. believes there is something about David that makes her want to get to know him better. Lindsey finds out how life can have a funny sense of humor as David his impending deployment. They agree to keep in touch while David is away & intend to start an actual relationship upon David’s return.

Unfortunately for them David’s tour is one that will haunt him for a lifetime. Unlike any tour David has experienced this tour deals a deadly hand. David has to watch a child being brutally beat to death while commanded to do nothing. His father he so desperately wanted to make proud suffers a massive heart attack & dies. David’s fellow ranger Al loses his legs while saving David’s life & he can’t help but feel guilty.

David comes home & is trying to handle it all. He doesn’t tell Lindsey any of the things he has seen while he is away & he doesn’t let her know of his return. Once Lindsey finds out David is home she reaches out but David shuts her out. Lindsey wants to help David; to comfort him. David however, doesn’t want love because of the pain he is suffering. David spins into an alcoholic depression after learning of his fellow ranger Max’s suicide. He nearly kills himself in a car accident before accepting that he can’t heal alone.

Having help from Lindsey, David seeks treatment & begins the healing process. During which time he reaches out to Max Jr. so that he will know his Dad was a hero. You will have to read the book if you want to know how the story ends.
Steven Manchester definitely crafted a story that would open eyes & break hearts.

Ashes is a story about the animosity and estrangement of two middle-aged brothers, Jason and Tom Prendergast. Jason is a correction's officer at a prison and Tom is a Professor. They have not seen each other in 15 years but are brought together, albeit reluctantly, by the death of their father. The letter they receive from the lawyer is that their father has already been cremated but their task is to travel across country to Seatle to spread the ashes. In order to find out what is in the letter that was left for them with the instructions, they need to follow their father's request. Thus starts the week long cross country trek to do what is required of them.

What follows is a testy trip, and we learn about what transpired and caused the estrangement between the brothers. Jason is divorced and is in the process of his daughter's wedding plans. Tom is unhappy in his marriage after he found that his wife cheated on him. We learn that Tom and Jason's father was extremely cruel to the boys and we get a glimpse into each brother's version of their young lives.

As with all of Mr.Manchester's books that I have read, you get pulled into the story rather quickly. With humor and a lot of bickering back and forth, anger on both parts as to what happened years ago. Is there a happy ever after? Well go get your own copy! I highly recommend this book if you are a fan of Steven Manchester, and even if you haven't read anything by him, you can't go wrong!

 Ashes by Steven Manchester
Have read other works by the author and know I will enjoy this one also as storyline sounds very interesting, something I'd like to do one day.
Jason and Tom have one mission after their father has passed away-to deliver his ashes to a location in Seattle. They do leave the Boston area and we find them on the road.
It's a very angry hateful ride but they do find some insistence they remember from their past years when they were younger, living at home.
Lessons are cruel. Language is cruel at times but necessary to get you in the frame of mind of the scenes.
Jason is the guard at the prison and Tom is a professor. Love bantering between the two as they are able to laugh at one another...
Love travel along the way and the places they stay-learning a bit about them.
End of the journey was quite a shock to me and they learn so much about their life. Like also that the story continued on as we see the changes they each made. Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.
I received this from the author and this is my honest review.