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Health & Fitness

Local Author Sets Off Chain of Thanks

In a rush to find a new home, a woman's friend comes through with a selfless gesture only to find herself as a guest on The Steve Harvey Show and the recipient of an unexpected gift.

Feverishly working to finalize her book that teaches expectant parents what they need to know in the event their baby is born on the way to the hospital, local author Jennifer Slater was quickly running out of time.  After being laid off from her position as a real estate paralegal during the housing crunch, she had jumped at the opportunity to pursue her dream of writing.  Loving her new career of sharing advice with other parents on unique topics, she suddenly learned that the home she had been renting for years had been lost to foreclosure, giving her only weeks to find a new place to live.

 

Having exhausted her savings while establishing her writing career, she confided her predicament to her long-time friend (and ex-mother-in-law), Donna, while trying to strategize a solution.  Unbeknownst to her, Donna had a chat with her husband Bob that evening and called the next day to make an unbelievable and completely selfless offer.  They were taking their summer cottage, a small home in northern Vermont that their family used for hunting and fishing, off the market, a property they were trying to sell to subsidize their retirement, so that Jennifer could live there rent-free until her book was complete and her feet were back on the ground.  How could Jennifer ever repay them for this incredible act of kindness.

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Still reeling from her friend’s generous offer Jennifer returned to her computer where she began going through the numerous PR newsletters that flooded her inbox when she came across a query from The Steve Harvey Show.  They were looking for someone who had a story of generosity that they would like to share on one of their Thank You episodes.  She couldn’t believe the timing and immediately contacted the producer of the show.

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Under the ruse of honoring her son Ryan (Donna and Bob’s grandson) for his recent service in the Navy, Jennifer and Ryan convinced Donna to fly to Chicago with them where Donna suddenly learned she was the true guest of honor.  To further contribute to this chain of thanks, The Steve Harvey Show provided an all expense paid Family Reunion for Donna and Bob's entire family at the First and Last Tavern along with professional photography coverage provided by Sebastian Photography Studio.

 

Like Jennifer told Steve Harvey, it’s one thing to do something for someone, but it’s entirely different when that gift actually cost you something dear.  And as always, kind gestures always seem to come back to you tenfold.

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