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A Christmas Passage

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Along with the lovely things the Christmas season brings --- the gifts, the good will, the gatherings with relatives --- for some, there's also the nightmare of holiday travel. For nine strangers, the trip home to Asheville, North Carolina will be an arduous and amazing one. When a snowstorm forces their flight out of Atlanta to be cancelled, Lisa Barone, a local woman in the spirit of the season, offers to drive the stranded passengers in her van. Seeing as it's Christmas Eve and everyone is more than anxious to get home and begin their holiday, they all happily accept.

Amelia is a kind, recently widowed college professor. Reggie is a fifty-something auto worker who has been laid off from his job in Detroit and is headed to Asheville to accept a new position working for his son. Marta, a harried mother of two young children, watched her marriage combust right in front of her a few days before. She is visiting her parents in North Carolina, where hopefully she can find some solace and a chance to lick her wounds. Andy is a Vietnam vet, also recently widowed, on his way to visit a dying Army buddy who doesn't have much time left. John is a wealthy businessman accustomed to spending more time traveling for business than with his wife and twins. And Ilena is on leave from the military where she's serving her tour of duty in Iraq. Despite the fitful weather, these weary travelers decide to head out on the road, drive to Asheville and hopefully make it by nightfall.

Once on their way, we quickly learn that each of the passengers is swathed in his or her own personal dramas. As the white, winding road stretches out ahead of them, they begin to share a little bit of themselves. The traveling is slower going than anyone anticipated as they make it to the mountains right around dusk. As they head up into the altitude, an avalanche a few hundred feet up ahead blocks their way, and they must turn around and figure out an alternate route. Nerves begin to fray and tempers flare as some worry they won't make it on time for Christmas. After the van, driven by Reggie, slides down an embankment and into a tree, the group decides to seek refuge in a deserted cabin a little off the main road. Despite the tension, everyone pitches in and sets about settling in for the night. Hopefully, they can stop a passing car on Comfort Mountain road in the morning.

Just as they are making themselves at home, an old mountain man named Joshua, obviously the cabin's occupant, returns. He graciously proffers his hospitality and even offers the wild turkey he's just captured and killed for the group's makeshift Christmas Eve dinner. As they all settle in, they feel comfortable enough to share their strengths and sorrows with the group. Amelia and Andy are mourning their spouses; Marta is thinking about her impending divorce and its effect on her young children; John fears he'll spend his life in airports, just like his recently deceased father; Ilena is worried about the friends she left behind in Iraq; and Reggie is bitter about being laid off and having to ask his son for help.

As the night wears on, they feel a sort of kinship with one another as they realize they share more in common than they originally thought: "Each felt an inner glow growing inside until it filled their humanity with hope, love, and joy." And Joshua seems to know more about them than they have chosen to reveal. The laborious journey, the danger, the bonding with others --- all these elements mingle to make this a holiday no one will forget.

As in David Saperstein and George Samerjan's A CHRISTMAS VISITOR, this heartwarming novel is a return to the uncomplicated holiday stories of years gone by, like O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi." Through their difficult but magical Christmas passage, each character comes to realize his or her blessings and hardships, and to appreciate them both. As comforting as a roaring fire on a cold winter's day, A CHRISTMAS PASSAGE will warm readers with its charming tale and gentle reminders of the true reason for the season.

--- Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller

The flight from Fulton County/Brown Field to Asheville on Christmas Eve morning is delayed along other flights due to the snowstorm. People are stranded at the airport and struggle with having patience as Blue Ridge Airline's Flight 6224 is canceled due to weather.

Marta Hood has thrown her scornful husband Robert out (along with the Xmas presents) even though he threatened to never return; she and her eight year old son Ronny and eleven year old daughter Nancy are going to stay temporarily with her parents, but she is worried about their future. Vietnam Veteran widower Andy Casiano notices Army Specialist Ilena Burton who feels guilty about being home for the holidays while worrying her brothers and sisters in arms remain in Iraq. Recently unemployed Reggie Howard worries about getting a job. Affluent businessman John Sullivan worries bout his health with the sudden death of his workaholic dad. After time in Florida, septuagenarian widow Amelia McIntosh looks forward to coming home after her last attempt to reconcile with her acrimonious sister-in-law. Lisa Barone and her Alzheimer's afflicted father need to visit an ailing relative in Asheville, but with the airport shut, she offers to take the travelers with her in her van. However, an avalanche has blocked the road stranding them as turn around is too dangerous. Each turns to one another for solace as they learn what Christmas is when they find Joshua and his remote cabin.

This is an interesting Christmas tale starring likable individuals struggling with traumas and a deep need to reach Asheville. The ensemble cast is solid with each containing differing personalities and issues. Although the climax is too perfect even with a pinch of the paranormal, fans who enjoy a fun Yuletide inspirational will want to join the stranded band of travelers whose trek is more metaphysical than physical.

Harriet Klausner

Albeit I don't celebrate Xmas at this season I like to read Xmas's stories. So I'll recommend some season's stories overly better than this one:

The Christmas Train by David Baldacci.

A Christmas to Die For by Marta Perry.

It's A Wonderful Christmas: An American Carol\Miracle On Bannock Street\It's A Wonderful Night
by Jasmine Cresswell.

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham.