Gone But Not Forgotten: A Christmas Story by D. M. Wilmes Search Amazon for other books by or about D. M. Wilmes. Rating: Reviewed by: John L. Hoh, Jr.

Clay is hunting on his uncle's farm. He has shot two birds and is ready to leave when he sees a young boy run into the woods. This disturbed Clay, who thought he was alone. He could have accidentally shot the little boy! Chasing where the boy ran off, Clay discovers a small cemetery of a family-four stones for a father, mother, son, and daughter. All four stones bore the inscription: GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN. Clay also notices that the four died rather young, a shame. The members of the family didn't have each other for very long. It is the stone of Sarah De Harvich that attracts Clay's attention.

Clay goes home, only to realize he has left his gun at that small cemetery. He goes back to retrieve it-only to find a small girl there. How could Clay have been so thoughtless? And who is that little girl? And who is this Aiden she speaks of?

Meanwhile, Clay's life is wrapped up in work, working for a boss that makes empty promises about lightening his work load and getting Clay a promotion. All the while Clay is usually bound to a pager for after-hours IT systems calls or sent by the company to client sites to fix systems problems. Clay's marriage with Tara is on the rocks and his relationship with his children is iffy at best.

Yet Clay sets out in search of Aiden and in the process seeks to explore himself, who he wanted to be, and who he became. Can an unplanned trip to a cemetery be a catalyst to bring life back to Clay's marriage and resurrect his relationship with his children?

This delightful book bears a similar message to the Cats in the Cradle syndrome. The ending, though, is different. The plot is well-planned and well executed. I can also see this book turned into a Christmas movie. Yes, the story is set at Christmas time, and to great effect. The inner turmoil of Clay is so great, one doesn't realize the Christmas aspect until the end of the book. But lest I say too much, and ruin the story, I'll leave it at that.