The Ultimate Gift

The Ultimate Gift (2000) by Jim Stovall is an inspirational self-help novel about a young man who can receive his inheritance only when he completes 12 tasks that teach him the important values of life. The book, illustrated by Elise Peterson, became a bestseller and spawned two sequels. All three works have been adapted for film. Author Stovall lost his sight to a degenerative disease in his late 20s. A champion weightlifter, he cofounded the Narrative Television Network, a descriptive-video service for those with blindness or visual impairment. The effort won him several awards, including an Emmy. Stovall has written more than a dozen books; he also delivers inspirational speeches around the US. He believes that, in modern times with technology, one can adapt to blindness, albeit with considerable difficulties, but that loss of one’s life vision is very troubling. He is active in the Christian community, and this novel is heavily influenced by Christian ideology. Stovall wrote two sequels to The Ultimate Gift: The Ultimate Life (2007) and The Ultimate Legacy (2009). All three are available as film adaptations.

The 2019 version of the 2011 eBook edition forms the basis for this study guide.