My Mother's Wish

I woke up to snow on the ground this morning! My brain was sure that my eyes were seeing things, and it took a few seconds before I realized that it was snow and not just sunlight shining on the ground everywhere. Driving to run errands this afternoon, I ran into a few flurries, one of which was pretty strong. My stepmom delivers newspapers, and she said that the roads were rather slippery around 3 am, and she had to stick to 30 mph to be safe. I'm not ready for snow yet. Snow implies winter which means Christmas, and I am absolutely not ready for Christmas. I've done quite a bit of shopping already, but I have a lot more to go, and snow means that I have even less time that I thought I did! I'm trying not to panic, considering Thanksgiving isn't even here yet. Wait, Thanksgiving is next week? Okay, I am absolutely panicking now. If you see a woman running down the road yelling at the snow to stop falling, that's me.

My Mother's Wish by Jerry Camery-Hoggatt is aptly subtitled An American Christmas Carol. Ellee McKutcheon has never been able to live up to her mother's expectations of her and has actually taken pride in living life her own way, but after a major fight between her parents, Ellee takes to the road. A stop at the Comeback Cafe resurrects old feelings and more than a few ghosts bringing Ellee home and to new appreciation for her mother on Christmas. Camery-Hoggatt writes with a wry and witty style making each anecdote a delight. While the story is short, it packs a real punch about the meaning of Christmas, family, and love. It's a charming book perfect for holiday gift-giving.

I'm giving away two copies of My Mother's Wish this week. If you'd like the chance to win, drop me an email before 10 pm on Thursday, November 20th. I'll post the winners here on Friday. Good luck!