Before the snow falls on Vermont and the curtain rises on the Columbia Inn, White Christmas Homecoming reveals the untold story behind the beloved holiday classic. This heartfelt prequel to the iconic film White Christmas brings readers back to the days before Bob Wallace and Phil Davis met the Haynes Sisters at Novello’s, tracing the journey of friendship, love, and redemption that set the stage for a legendary reunion. In bustling New York, a chance encounter outside the YMCA reunites Bob and Phil with their old army pal, Captain Joe Ross, whose war injuries still cast a long shadow. Invited to their Broadway hit Playing Around, Joe meets Evie, a gifted seamstress, and her spirited son Bobby—sparking a romance that promises healing and hope. As the show faces trouble, Bob and Phil enlist the help of jazz greats Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, and Tito Rodriguez, and take their production to Florida, introducing audiences to the dazzling new world of choreography. But behind the scenes, personal struggles mount. Joe and Evie’s budding relationship falters, and General Tom Waverly faces the loss of his cherished Columbia Inn. With Christmas approaching, the 151st Division prepares to honor the General in Vermont, and the townspeople of Pine Tree rally to support the cause. For Joe, the season brings a reckoning—can he overcome his past and find the courage to reunite with the woman he loves and the soldiers he left behind? White Christmas Homecoming: A Legend is Reborn is a nostalgic journey into the heart of a cherished story, offering fans a deeper look into the lives and loves that shaped the magic of White Christmas. "Mark Streuber has created a feel-good tale with straightforward writing, easy dialogue, and plenty of emotion that practically bleeds off the characters." "Coward!" Long after wars are over, there are wars that go on inside the heads of the people they affect. Certainly the soldiers — what they saw, what they did, what they said and how they felt. Their emotions, realized during a non-typical time in their lives, often take a toll on how they adjust once they return to more normal circumstances. For some, they will never recapture that normal — those on the battlefields as well as their loved ones. White Christmas Homecoming: A Legend Is Reborn by Mark Streuber is a heartwarming story not so much about war but about how it cast a shadow over people and their families trying to make sense of their experiences and rebuild their fractured lives. A HEARTWARMING STORY Foremost among those characters is Joe Ross, a well-respected former Army Captain, war hero and good person, who now works as a maintenance man at a YMCA in New York, and takes great pride in coaching and mentoring a bunch of young boys on the Y basketball team. But he still confronts demons from that day recovering in the military infirmary when he called his former General Waverly a coward for turning the Division over to a self-serving and incapable new General. "For ten awful years," Joe says, "I've carried this burden that I've wronged the General. Until I can tell him how wrong I was, that war will continue." Then there's Joe's budding love interest, Evie, who has demons of her own. She lost her husband to the war - not that he was killed in it, but rather he was a different man when he returned and their marriage ended. Learning that Joe was a former military man makes Evie jittery about a possible relationship, knowing the effects of war. The story also introduces readers to former soldiers Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, who launch successful careers as entertainers. The transition of their play from initial success to a tired act is the catalyst behind much of the plot line and the interaction between many of the characters, all with stories to tell and war connections of their own to come to terms with. A FEEL-GOOD TALE WITH PLENTY OF EMOTION And of course, there's General Waverly, now dependent on the snowfall in Vermont to keep the fortunes of his inn and ski lodge successful. Waverly also has unfinished business to resolve with Joe Ross. Mark Streuber has created a feel-good tale with straightforward writing, easy dialogue, and plenty of emotion that practically bleeds off the characters. The title implies a Christmas story — and the narrative does in fact revolve around that holiday. But this is a story for all season and any reader who likes to invest in fictional characters and find truths within them. As Joe hems and haws at his moment of truth, Bob offers an explanation that summarizes the key theme in this book: "I don't mean to be heartless, Joe. But we all have bad memories. We saw things we can't get out of our minds. And when they rise to the surface, we have to push and shove those memories back into those dark corners whence they came." "It's a tough business for all of us." Jim Alkon Editorial Director BookTrib.com