The Quiet Little Woman, by Louisa May Alcott

To be honest with you, I didn't even look to see what the story was about when I snatched up a copy of The Quiet Little Woman at our local used bookstore. I noted three things about the book before making the purchase:

• It's a Christmas story.
• It was written by Louisa May Alcott.
• The illustrations by C. Michael Dudash are beautiful.

When I got home with the book, I curled up on the couch and read through it. This is a story that Louisa May Alcott wrote for five sisters to include in their home-produced magazine. Alcott apparently wrote many encouraging letters to these sisters and wanted to write them a story for their publication "for love, not for money."

The story itself was beyond beautiful, being about a young girl named Patty who had lived in an orphanage "ever since she could remember."

"Oh, if someone would only come and take me away! I'm so tired of living here and I don't think I can bear it much longer!"

Patty has a sad look about her and most people who would come to adopt or take away the girls from the orphanage passed over her. Patty longed for a regular home where she would be able to find and experience love. Eventually one day an older lady comes along and finds Patty sad and alone. She listens to Patty talk for a bit and arranges for her to move in with some relatives.

The home is nice enough and the family mean well. However, they treat Patty more like a servant than a member of the family and Patty still longs to feel love. Through a particular set of circumstances, they come to realize that Patty is all heart and they learn to love her in a fresh, new and exciting way. The story, as you might imagine, ends well.

I wasn't expecting an adoption story when I sat down to read this but was beyond delighted just the same. Naturally, the entire time I was reading it, this Steven Curtis Chapman Christmas adoption song was running through my head:



Both the song and the story express the very same thing.

‘Cause all I really want for Christmas
Is someone to tuck me in
Tell me I’ll never be alone
Someone whose love will never end
Of all that I could ask for
Well, there’s just one thing I need
All I really want for Christmas
All I really want for Christmas is a family

Unfortunately, the book is now out-of-print although you can still find some reasonably priced used copies through Amazon. Naturally, I recommend the read. It's a short story but impacting just the same.