"A beautiful, poetic, ethereal read, The Shoemaker is the story of a great-grandfather and great-grandson connected by blood and by their passion for shoes. At first Manny has little time for his ancestors, but as his great-grandfather's life draws magically closer, at times aided by benevolent apparitions, he begins to glimpse the answers to the questions about the meaning of life that have been plaguing him. Shoes play an important and enlightening role throughout the story and deliver so many gems I had to stop and savor, my favorite being that with a good pair of shoes, you can go anywhere and achieve anything. Masterfully told, the further you read, the tighter the threads the author has so expertly woven come together, leaving you, like Manny, with a renewed perspective of the meaning of family, home, and what to do with our precious time on this earth." -Hilary Hauck, author of From Ashes to Songand The Things We'll Never Have