Having treated her several months for a rare form of blood cancer, the children's hospital where she had been staying has failed to put Serena into remission. Fearing that she has just weeks or days to live, they send her home to Laresfield to be with her mother and father. The townspeople, not really understanding just how ill she is, decide they want to do something special for Serena; something that will hopefully be special to her financially troubled parents, as well. Having contacted Alice Deepriver who represents the Make-A-Wish Foundation in the town of Gray Lake, the residents of Laresfield anxiously assemble at the Fielding's residence to hear Serena's wish. Serena however, just wishing she could get well, and being too sick to leave her home, stuns everyone with a request that is impossible to grant. Everyone is disappointed, everyone except Alice Deepriver. Suspecting Serena's unique wish is actually symbolic for something very special; Alice returns to the unusual town of Gray Lake, where she sets Serena's Wish free.
About the Author: Gary Reid was born in 1952 at the Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach. When he was 10 months old, his parents moved him from Florida to Vermont where he has resided, mostly on the shores of Lake Champlain, ever since. His two sisters were both born in Burlington. He attended the University of Vermont where he enrolled in pre-med and received a B.A. in Zoology. He put himself through college; working at Champlain Valley Fruit Co. for nine years, then IBM as an engineering technician for thirty-three and one third years; retiring in 2012 to pursue other activities. In 1975, he met his future wife, Deborah Lee Jewett. They were married in 1977, and had two children; Michelle and Christopher. Debbie passed in 2001, after a long illness. Gary's father passed in 2005; his mother in 2008. Physical activities have been a big part of Gary's life. Starting with cross-country and track in high school, he switched to gymnastics in college; competing for 17 years. While studying Tae Kwon Do for 18 years, he attained a 2nd degree black belt and instructed for nine of those years. He has done aerobics, yoga, and tap dance. He has run three half marathons, and competed in four triathlons. He loves to water ski, horseback ride, ice skate, and kayak. While Gary's current pastimes include: photography, pigeon racing, and ballroom dance; one of his passions has become writing: journaling, essays and articles on life and loss, and fiction. When his daughter was a young girl, she would often have trouble falling asleep. To help her relax, Gary would tell her stories that he had made up-some stretching over several evenings. As a teenager, Michelle said, "Dad...you should write those stories down." On that suggestion, he has written Serena's Wish.