If you want a dose of wisdom and jolt of inspiration, look no further than The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews — our focus for today’s “Fiction Friday” review.
Published in 2002, The Traveler’s Gift lit up the bestseller charts for The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly — and made a star of its author Andy Andrews.
Andy Andrews is a motivational speaker, corporate speaker and consultant, and bestselling author. He has written over 20 books — three of which became mega bestsellers. Those three – his most popular works – are The Noticer, How Do You Kill 11 Million People, and The Traveler’s Gift. The latter was his first big hit, and is primarily responsible for his success.
Though Andrews’ brand is that of a more mainstream self-help author and speaker, his Christian faith is evident beneath the surface. In fact, some of the more critical reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, bash the book because it has ‘religious undertones’ and it ‘pushes God.’
Personally, I count those things a plus, and those people who are so hostile to the very mention of God — well, that says more about THEM than about the author.
Some have criticized Andrews for not being more overt and explicit with his faith. This just shows that you can’t please everyone.
It’s also worth noting that the book market is full of overt Christian books written by men and women who aren’t shy talking about Christ and the Gospel. The problem, Andrews argues, is that such books are read by other Christians – and rarely by non-Christians. Writing for FaithGateWay.com in 2018, Andrews said, “I write books that Christians can give to their non-Christian friends that they will actually read, creating an opportunity for conversation between the Christian and the non-Christian” (emphasis his).
The Traveler’s Gift is in this spirit. It’s part fantasy, part history, and part self-help. It’s approachable for mainstream audiences, yet Judeo-Christian themes are sprinkled throughout and the primary plot device – traveling through time – is orchestrated by (well) You Know Who.
The plot centers on a middle-aged family man named David Ponder. Once a successful Fortune 500 executive, Ponder’s career tumbled dramatically. At the beginning of our story, we find him working a part-time, minimum wage job and struggling to support his growing family. Just when you think things can’t get worse, his daughter gets sick. He and his wife can’t afford the medical help she needs. And then…he is fired unjustly from his low-paying job.
Desperate, he takes a drive — to who knows where. Accelerating to unsafe speeds, he wonders if the world and his family would be better off without him. When his car (predictably) skids off the road, Ponder winds up not in the after-life, but at the beginning of a strange, incredible time-traveling journey that will change his life forever.
On this journey, he meets historical figures ranging from King Solomon to Joshua Chamberlain and from Anne Frank to Harry Truman. And he learns some crucial lessons along the way.
Let me say this as clearly as I can: I loved this book!
I listened to it on Audible on the way home from work one night. When I got home, the family had already gone to bed, so I sat on the couch in the rec room and finished it — listening to it on Audible while, at the same time, following along on my Kindle device. I consumed it in one evening, finally getting to bed sometime after 1 am.
Those who know me know I love to read. And my favorite genres are faith, history, and personal development — and, on the fiction side, history, fantasy, and science fiction. Well, this book combines ALL of those genres into one inspiring story!
Now I freely grant that The Traveler’s Gift isn’t theologically correct. There is no indication in Scripture whatsoever that God allows some of His followers to travel through time to learn lessons from various historical figures. This is clearly in the fantasy category. But that’s okay. It’s inspirational fantasy – much like It’s a Wonderful Life starring Jimmy Stewart or an episode of Touched By An Angel.
Some will question Andrews’ decision to include Christopher Columbus on this time travel journey. Well, this novel was published in 2002 (and written in the years leading up to that). We weren’t yet living in the Age of Outrage and in the full grip of political correctness at that time.
Thankfully.
And while Columbus is certainly a “mixed bag” (so to speak) as a historical figure, a lot of what his modern-day enemies believe about him is based on what his contemporary enemies said about him. It’s important to keep this in mind. Regardless, whether we consider Columbus a hero or villain (or somewhere in between), the lessons he imparts to Ponder are still relevant to anyone today.
Some reviewers have pointed out various historical inaccuracies within The Traveler’s Gift. Yes, there were a few, but this is a historical FANTASY book.
It’s a time-travel self-help adventure where the main protagonist meets historical figures to learn important lessons. It’s not intended as a historical textbook, and…
None of the inaccuracies take away from the story or the principles being taught.
Some critics talk about the main character being two-dimensional.
Ummm…. this is not high-brow literature. It’s not meant to be.
The Traveler’s Gift is light “pop” fiction where the emphasis is on the LESSONS BEING LEARNED rather than the elements of the fictional story itself.
And finally, some scoff at the book because they just don’t like the positive self-help nature of the book. Again…
This criticism says more about the scoffers than about the author or the book.
It’s been my experience that — more often than not — those who scoff at self-help books are the people who most need to READ such books!
If you recognize this book for what it is, and simply want an encouraging, fantastical, and enjoyable reading experience….
You can’t go wrong with The Traveler’s Gift.
