When it’s a Christmas that is just too much…

Synopsis

Christmas cheer was dead, to begin with.

The world rests on Eliza’s shoulders. The kids, her husband, work, her elderly mother and don’t forget her newest friend, perimenopause. It’s too much to carry, but she’s been doing it for years. It’s just what a good wife and mother does, isn’t it? 

When another Christmas rolls around, Eliza is drained by all the expectations and logistics of the holiday season. She’s fast approaching her breaking point, only no one around her notices she’s on the edge.

After an incident at her in-law’s on Christmas Eve brings things to a boiling point, she finds herself with three unexpected visitors. The spirits of the past, present, and future take her on a journey through her life to shake her out of the rut she’s gotten into. Their messages leave her with new possibilities: reconnect with her past, reclaim her present, or forge a new future, and you, the reader, decide which option is best! 

My review

Eliza feels the pressure pulling her on every side. Everyone relies on her and expects her to jump as high as possible whenever they need her. Not only her kids, but also her husband and her own mother seem to be taking Eliza and all her help for granted.
But this Christmas, Eliza feels like it’s becoming all too much. And to add even more headache, her husband tells her that this year, they are going to spend it with Jacob’s obnoxious brother Edward and his second wife.
And right there, Eliza finally reaches her boiling point after an incident. But what she doesn’t expect, is that that same night, she has the visit of three spirits: the spirit of the past, the spirit of the present and the spirit of the future. They take her on a journey through her life, showing her how she used to be, how she has become, and what her future may look like. And after the visits, it’s up to her what to do with all the new possibilities.

Unpopular confession: I have never read A Christmas Carol… I have seen several film adaptations but the book itself, that I have never read.
So I know what the story is about, based on the screen, but as always, the depth of the words on pages didn’t always come to realization in the films.

While the original of course is a classic, it was great to read the same kind of story but in the present setting. But it also needs to be said, that Eliza isn’t a real Scrooge, but just a woman struggling in life, as there are just too many people relying on her and assuming that she will just go with the flow.

I felt sorry for Eliza the greatest part of the book, as she is doing her best, but it needs to be said, both her husband, children and even her own mother seem rather ungrateful, or just not understanding what Eliza is going through, or how she is experiencing every change, every not – listening moment or every demand.

While for Eliza it is a frustrating Christmas, when she reaches her boiling point, I have to say that as a reader it for sure was a funny moment. Because it’s so clear that there is a lot simmering, ready to explode. And in a way, I also felt it was her fully right to say that she has had enough. But perhaps the way she does it, isn’t the most diplomatic one.

I have to say, if I were in Eliza’s shoes and I would get a visit by these spirits, I would be screaming like crazy out of fear. I already scream when I have nightmares about spiders, so I think you can imagine how loud I would be screaming if actual spirits would show up 😊.
So I liked it to read how after her initial shock, Eliza was open for what was going to happen.

Seeing how Eliza goes on a journey to her past, present and even her future was so heartwarming but also eye – opening in a way.
With her past, she not only sees an old relative of her, but she also sees how her life was in the past. Not only does she see a less stressed Eliza, but her voyage to the past is also a reminder of so many memories she lost over the years.

And in the present, even if this spirit is more vague than the spirit of the past, she learns that what she sees or thinks about certain people is in fact not what those people actually think. With the spirit of the present, she gets a better understanding of the people around her, and that makes her realize perhaps her own thoughts were in the wrong.

Perhaps the most shocking trip was the one of the possible futures she makes with the spirit of the future. Because, and I am trying to stay as spoiler free as possible 😊, her future does not look at all as how I expected it would be! In fact, I still have still a few questions about it! 😊
And I have to admit, it took me while to completely understand what happens in the end!

I truly enjoyed reading this book, as it shows the reality of the present, that our lives are getting busier, more stressed and more demanding. And that it’s only natural to explode as things are getting too much. But what this book is about, is that it’s never too late to make a change in our lives. While that can be by doing something that is a tradition and expand that tradition, or just get away from it all, there are several possibilities to make that change.
Just because life is stressing, dull and one day flies into the other, it doesn’t mean that it has to stay that way.
And we sometimes all need to remember about moments in the past of true joy, and make the effort to sometimes relive them.
But sometimes change is good, as who knows what the future will bring us!
With the three possible outcomes in this book, we can see how change can be made, one way or another. That added an even extra special Christmassy layer in this wonderful book that just swept me away!