THE GIFT OF PEACE Star Nikki DeLoach on Grief: ‘Reach Out’
By Movieguide® Staff
Actress Nikki DeLoach recently starred in the latest Hallmark movie, THE GIFT OF PEACE.
A portion of Movieguide®’s review of the movie reads:
THE GIFT OF PEACE, a drama on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, is about the true meaning of Christmas. It focuses on Traci and Michael’s journey of grief at Christmas. The movie begins with Traci working on her Christmas painting that is her first Christmas painting since her husband, Greg’s, passing two years ago. Joyce, her best friend and manager, suggests Traci join a grief support group at Grace Community Church to help her in her grief journey. Will Traci regain her faith?
THE GIFT OF PEACE is a powerful redemptive movie. The characters are always trying to serve their community at Christmas. Together, they find their way back to the true meaning of Christmas. That said, the actors do a great job showing that everything isn’t always neat and tidy. Media-wise viewers will find THE GIFT OF PEACE worthwhile viewing.
DeLoach, who plays the role of Traci in the movie, said that the role reflected her personal life in many ways.
“I lost my dad last July and I was very stuck in my grief and I didn’t really know how to move forward,” she told Olivia Horton in a recent interview. “What grief does is it splits you into two. Its so complicated and nuanced. On top of it is the loss, the finality of the reality that you will never be able to hug that person you love again.”
“What makes this movie special is it really gives you a blueprint for understanding that we don’t have to do this alone,” she added. “Reach out, whether it’s going to a friend or a support group, to someone who can help you carry your grief because it’s inside of that sharing of the stories and sharing of your pain that we find healing. That is really what THE GIFT OF PEACE is about.”
Just like Traci, DeLoach said that her and some of her fellow cast members learned the lesson that facing grief with someone by your side can lead to healing.
“It was one of those situations that happens where art imitates life,” she said. “In this grief support group, there were five of us in it, and three of us were actively moving through grief. We were all really in it together. Between takes we would all share our stories with each other, of our loved ones, and something opened up, something lightened inside of me.”
“I began to find some joy again, I began to laugh and I began to start celebrating life again,” she said. “Little by little, I started inching forward and we all found that together. It was such a beautiful experience of all of us being brought together to do this movie but we were all transformed at the end of it on a very personal level.”
- Content: +1Share:
- Content: +1