writer...'s Reviews > Christmas Every Morning

Personally impacting, this story introduces readers to a contemporary young woman struggling on several levels of her life. She has received the final call to her dying mother's bedside. A mother she hasn't seen in years and with good reason, our protagonist, Krista, believes. What in her past has influenced her perspective? Upon arrival in her home town, she is confronted with more unwanted memories of her past with the care home founder and director re-entering her life. At one time her boyfriend, what is keeping their relational dance from taking a new turn?

It is a story of inner turmoil as Krista struggles to come to terms with the influence of the past on her present. And the future awaits her decisions. Insightful treatment of grief and loss was powerful, while hitting close to home for me in having lived through this scenario just one year ago with the alzheimer related loss of my own mother. As the author herself wrote in the closing, she had difficulty in the writing of the story. As I had in the reading. Grieving takes time, but it's only in grieving that we heal.

Ms Bergren's writing is remarkable in the accuracy of scenarios with alzheimer patients and the end of life realities. Vivid representation of the protagonist's inner wrestling and struggles regarding relational connections are emotionally dynamic. Valuable and recommended insightful reading.