One Imperfect Christmas

Belinda and Bram Morgan have been married for almost 50 years and have set the example for all their children to follow in what makes love work in a marriage. They celebrate Christmas the same way now that their children have grown beginning with the celebration of Natalie's birthday and then trimming the tree. But for Natalie, those are high expectations to have even within your own home. She is far from the perfectionist her mother is and often procrastinates more than she should. That's why her husband Daniel asked her to take down the decorations before his own parents arrived later that afternoon. So when Natalie's mom called enlisting her help to take down their decorations she had the perfect excuse. Her mother wanted to help since Bram and their oldest son were on a trip leaving her alone to begin the task if she didn't want to wait.

So when Natalie told her she couldn't help today due to the visit from Daniel's parents she told her mom to simply leave all the boxes in the guest room downstairs and she would over later this week to put them in storage for her. She often worried that her mom did too much now that she was older and suffering from the effects of arthritis. What Natalie didn't expect when she hung up with her mother, was to receive a phone call later that evening that would forever change her life. Her mother had suffered from a massive stroke and since she had been alone at the time, the damage was far too great for her mother to return to her former self.

Now plagued with guilt for simply being glad that she didn't have to join her mother that afternoon and instead had a day for herself, Natalie pours herself into her free lance job trying to earn money she knows her father will need to pay for her mom's medical expenses. This drives a wedge between her and Daniel as he tries to fix things between them, and Natalie avoids dealing with their own marriage issues trying to make up for not being there for her mother. She feels if she had only been there, this would have never happened. Will Natalie find a way to restore her own marriage or will this be the first imperfect Christmas to rock her family?

I received One Imperfect Christmas by Myra Johnson compliments of Abingdon Press as part of the Christmas Blog Tour for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own. I absolutely LOVED this novel based in part to being able to relate to Natalie's character so much. Often times when the holidays are upon us, we feel like we are expected to do our best and meet all family obligations despite having to manage our own. I could relate to the guilt that Natalie felt upon hearing of her mother's stroke and understood the need to do everything to make amends to her what she felt was her mistake. The resolution that evidently comes is believable and everything doesn't come wrapped up in a pretty bow like you would expect. This is real in my opinion and thus why I would rate this a 5 out of 5 stars.

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One Imperfect Christmas by Myra Johnson

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• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426700709
• ISBN-13: 978-1426700705
• Product Dimensions: 0.9 x 5.4 x 8.3 inches