When does the holiday season begin? Unofficially, somewhere between November 1 and Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving will be here in only three weeks. So it’s close enough to embrace all of the good things about the period from late November until early January.
For many, the holidays aren’t so good. Whether it’s because of family estrangement or the loss of loved ones, December can spark feelings of isolation, regret, and despair.
Three years ago, I spent the holiday season writing On Our Way Home. After I finished it, someone told me Christmas stories don’t sell. So consider it a ghost story that happens to land at the intersection of A Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life.
Two years ago, I posted On Our Way Home here, one chapter at a time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year, I decided to make it available for purchase, with every penny of my proceeds going to charity.
This year, it’s back. With two changes. First, the ebook has been cut to only $2.99. Second, I’ve got two new charities that will share whatever I get from Amazon for all sales from now through New Year’s Day.
I recently appeared on the Unbreakable podcast with Jay Glazer, who has spent much of his time in recent years helping others deal with mental-health challenges. After the taping (the episode is coming soon), I asked Jay for a charity he supports. He pointed me to the Michael Phelps Foundation. Half of the proceeds will go there.
The other half will support Peter King’s effort to raise money for Enfield Public Schools, which faces the elimination of 17 sports programs due to $9 million in budget cuts. In Enfield, 52 percent of the students in the school system come from families who are at or below the poverty level. Peter has raised $125,000, with a goal of raising $150,000. The other half of my 2024 holiday season proceeds from On Our Way Home will go there.
The print edition remains $9.99, which results in a bigger payment that will be split between the two charities. The hope is that, at the drop-in-the-bucket cost of $2.99, many of you will click the button and make the purchase and fund another chunk of a donation to both causes.
Here’s another reason to do it. The book is good. It’s the best thing I’ve ever written (low bar, I know), and there’s a pretty good chance I won’t top it — even if I reach my goal of finishing 30 novels before I’m hunting and pecking on the Great Typewriter in the Sky.
Don’t take my word for it. The folks at Kirkus loved it: “Florio’s yarn is a richly textured portrait of a middle-class clan with sharply etched characters and a touch of magical realism, written in evocative prose that’s wryly funny but has darker undertones of uncertainty, gathering estrangement, and loss. . . . By turns comic, ruminative and heartfelt, Florio’s tale captures the deep emotional currents flowing through a not-quite-typical Christmas.”
I love every word of that review. Still, the best feedback I’ve gotten came from a reader who said that, after years of PTSD that had robbed him of the capacity to experience any kind of emotion, On Our Way Home sparked his ability to feel again. After reading his email, I told my wife that, if nothing else comes of this, it was worth it.
But there are many more out there who might benefit from a story that highlights the importance of reconciliation and redemption, especially during the holidays. Reading it might prompt some to make the first move to repair a broken relationship. It also might persuade some to forgive themselves for failing to fix a fractured relationship before it was too late.
If you bought On Our Way Home last year, thank you. If you’re looking for simple and cheap holiday gifts, buy more copies for only $9.99 each. If those who get it take the fairly short time to read it, maybe they’ll be inspired to devote extra time and attention this holiday season to the most valuable thing any of us can ever have — our families.
