In the garden, there is a beautiful apple tree the color of gold. She is a special tree. Because unlike the other trees, this tree has a very unusual gift deep inside her.

Written during a summer writing class in 1996, after the tragic loss of her sister three years before, Dora Harman’s tale is a simple and beautiful story of love and kindness. The story was inspired by real events, as a ten-year-old Dora, helping to plant flowers, once discovered a shiny golden object in the dirt of her mother’s garden: her father’s wedding band, which had been lost for fifteen years.

Today, two crab apple trees, planted by her great-grandparents in the 1950s, still stand in that garden and bloom every spring. Dora and her sister played under those trees as children and gardened near them year after year. Tree’s Hidden Gift is a tribute to those memories and to Dora’s lost sister, who exuded kindness, love, and compassion.

About the Author

Born and raised in a small agricultural community in the state of Montana, Dora Harman grew up in the house her great-grandfather built. She and her older sister attended the local elementary, junior high, and high school (all one building) together, then enrolled together at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana. In the fall of 1993, her sister was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident. Although devastated by the loss of her sister, Dora completed her degree in Fine Arts, English Writing, and Psychology.

Dora, who is a fourth-generation wheat farmer, loves the simplicity of small-town living, and although she has traveled the world, she and her family have chosen the special place of her hometown as their permanent residence.