Gifts Handed Down

During his father's illness and death, J. Daniel Hess paused to remember. He took a journey into his heritage -- not a sentimental journey so much as a thoughtful walk among old things he received from his father and mother, who received them from their families, who inherited them. These old things turned out to be of unimaginable value.

Hess wants readers to see what he saw: Gaiety, Purity, Civility, Dignity, Simplicity, Generosity, Perceptivity, Responsibility, Serenity, and Integrity. Best read in quiet moments, Gifts Handed Down is a provocative witness against the clamor of contemporary culture, the clutter of a competitive lifestyle, and the frantic clutch for mall markdowns.