Customer Reviews

All Jingled Out: Done with the Dashing / My True Love Gave to Me (Steeple Hill Christmas)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just finished laughing my way through my reading of "All Jingled Out". The two contemporary stories are ones any wife and mother can identify with. In "All Done with the Dashing" it takes an almost tragedy for Maggie Mackenzie and her family to let go of some of their holiday traditions in order to enjoy the true meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

In Christine Lynxwiler's first person story "My True Love Gave to Me", we take a road trip with Penny Lassiter, holiday planner extraordinaire, and her family, a trip planned by her husband that Penny and the kids don't want to be on. They slowly change their minds as they learn about Christmas by serving those less fortunate and spending time with each other. I loved this whole book including the titles of the twelve chapters which can be sung to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

I highly recommend buying this hilarious and heartwarming book to get you in the spirit of the true meaning of Christmas. Rose McCauley

Done With The Dashing by Pamela Dowd: It's easy to relate to Maggie's feeling about being "all jingled out", as most of us find that the holidays to be more stressful than relaxing. She was generous to a fault, and it was sad how her family took advantage of her over the years. At times, I wanted to slap some sense into her husband and sisters for being so clueless, and at other times, I wanted to shake Maggie for allowing herself to be treated as a doormat by them. It was an interesting spiritual journey to resolve these issues (I loved the Martha and Mary biblical analogy) and to set boundaries within the family dynamics in order to reclaim oneself.

My True Love Gave to Me by Christine Lynxwiler: Although I appreciated the emphasis on moving away from the commericialism of Christmas and finding the true spirit of the holiday, all the talk about Christian women being submissive to their husbands, rather than coexisting in a partnership with them, bothered me so much that it hindered my enjoyment of this story. It was very heavy-handed on the preachiness, and it's unrealistic for a husband to make such drastic plans and decisions without consulting with his wife first, expecting her to happily follow along regardless of her feelings. While a valuable lesson was expressed, I felt hit over the head by the message, instead of having it wash over me comfortably.

In her hilarious and touching novella "Done With the Dashing," Pamela Dowd has created a heroine in Maggie Mackenzie -- an overworked, overstressed but endearing mom -- with whom all readers can relate. I breezed through it in one sitting, and promptly did the dishes and straightened the house for my own multi-tasking mother. Highly recommended reading for moms everywhere -- as well as for people who live with moms.

I took this book to bed with me to read myself to sleep. Instead...I was awake at 1 a.m. finishing "All Jingled Out." I was afraid I was going to wake my family up by laughing hysterically over this story! We have got to have more books by Pamela Dowd!!