Tim Waggoner, The Winter Box review

Written by: Paula Limbaugh

Every once in a while something comes along that just hits you in such a powerful, deep way that you just have to step back and give yourself time to digest it. That’s what Tim Waggoner’s novella, The Winter Box did for me. Tim masterfully relates a story of love and loss, and the haunting reminders of what is left when we think there is nothing left to salvage.

Heather and Todd have been married for some 20 years, a loving comfortable relationship has now become strained. Like two ships passing in the night, they see each other but no longer is it of any significance.

On the night of their 25^th wedding anniversary, a major storm has hit the city. Stuck together with nothing no longer in common, Heather pulls out an old box of trinkets that they have been collecting over the years. Every year on their anniversary they each have added one thing that had meaning to their relationship, but this year Todd has nothing to contribute. Hurt, Heather decides to open the box anyway and reminisce the way things were. Alas, Todd wants no part of it and Heather shuts the box, but by opening the box in the first place she doesn’t realize she has released ghosts of the past.

And so, the nightmarish journey begins. Both must face their ghosts and try to find their way back to what once was. Not everyone can own up to their failures, only those with a will to go on can come through such an honest evaluation of their past. It can only make you stronger, or it can break you.

Tim has crafted his characters so brilliantly, you get a real sense of their emotions and can relate to them as if they are a part of your being.  The storm is so graphically described you feel the bone-chilling cold, the icy wind blowing through you. If you want to read a story that will stay with you long after you’re done reading, this is the one to read!

Highly recommended, pick up your copy HERE!

5/5