As I read this small book packed with a wonderful story, I wished Alex Haley were still here writing his heart out. The man was brilliant. "A Different Kind of Christmas" is mainly about, Fletcher Randall, a white Southerner. Fletcher grew up on a thousand acre plantation in North Carolina. The plantation was worked and served by over a hundred slaves. Slaves owned by Fletcher's parents. His parents send him North to go to Princeton University in New Jersey. In New Jersey it's not easy for a slaveholding son to make many friends.
During Fletcher Randall's university days, he meets three brothers who are Quakers. As a sect, the Quakers played a huge role in helping slaves escape on the Underground Railroad or giving a kindly hand to the slaves following the North Star in some other way, giving the slaves a hiding place, food and/or giving a new route out of danger from dogs and slave patrollers. Although the Quakers played the biggest part in helping slaves to freedom, the Native Americans also helped. Their knowledge of the forests and rivers was tremendous.
Alex Haley's story takes place before the Civil War and before the word "secession" was used. It also a plan for a Holy night, Christmas Eve. Mention is made of Harpin' John hearing the German emigrants sing "Stille Nicht." The beauty of the song sung by the Germans impressed him. Later, he would try to recapture the tune on his harmonica.
"A Different Kind of Christmas by Alex Haley is fascinating because it gives a peek into our psyche. It's a story about separating from our parents. Then, struggling to keep or move away from what we have been taught traditionally. This is not an easy process. However, it is a process each of us experience.
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