Dear Reader,

Life has dealt me a few unexpected challenges in the past few years. Naturally, my initial reaction is indignation. What? I’m a good person. I don’t deserve any bad luck, failure or bumps in the road.

But when I think about it, isn’t an unexpected ill fortune, a gut-wrenching disappointment, a heartbreak at the very soul of every single story?

In real life, as well as in fiction, herein lies the turning point, the opportunity to be braver than I have ever been before and to explore life’s unpredictability and fragility. I always seem to emerge from a challenging period humbled, but somehow more whole and more human.

I become more aware of simple gifts threaded through everyday life: sunlight spinning my dog’s fur to gold, the comforting slosh of the dishwasher running, my partner throwing back his head and laughing.

I am more aware than ever of how the gift of a great story can provide respite from troubles and give hope of better days to come.

So, in this season of wonder, I give you this story, my Christmas gift to you. I wish you blessings and miracles and a heart that is open to receiving them.

With love,

Cara