A North Carolina man who raised money for cancer charities by putting up a Christmas light show in honor of his late brother has now written an inspirational Christmas book to aid the cause.
For the past 12 years, Jimmy Curiazza has paid tribute to his baby brother Dean, who died at the age of 4 in December of 1967, by putting on a musical lights show, accordingto People.
This has raised over $20,000 for leukemia and lymphoma charities, and his new book, “The Workshop,” is set to draw in more as he donates the proceeds to the Duke Children Pediatric Cancer Foundation at Duke University, where Curiazza works as a mechanical systems/plumbing supervisor.
The novella is about the healing power of Christmas and follows a man who tells his story to a nurse after being admitted to the hospital.
Curiazza said, “I believe in the Christmas spirit. I think Christmas time brings out the best in people and me in particular.”
“I just light up that time of year and enjoy seeing the good in people,” he said.
He described the impact of losing his brother at a young age, stating, “It changed our whole family dynamic.”
“Our family was kind of broken at that point, and it never got better for them (his parents) or for us,” he added.
Then, in 1988, he got married and began to enjoy the holiday season as he started his own family.
Curiazza’s daughter, Francesca, told People, “I think it’s hard to celebrate a holiday when you [lose] one of your kids around the same time, so he didn’t get to experience the joy of Christmas.”
She also noted how his dedication to helping others has healed him through the years.
She said, “My dad has always been Christmas spirit-y, but he just threw himself out there with this, and it ended up being this uplifting, super sweet book.”
“I’m super proud of him, and it’s beautiful that he’s donating everything to Duke’s children’s cancer fund,” she added.