Jane Christmas

I’ve had this book on my TBR stack for a long time now- I was interested in a story about a woman with some disabilities travelling through Europe as I am a traveller with some disabilities...

Well.
I also have some (well one, really) ungrateful snarky child. As, apparently, does the mother in this story.

The author spends the book whining about what a pain it is taking her mother around Italy, how frustrating every thing her mother says and does is, how she wishes over and over again she show more was alone. She wants to tell her mother things like, “if you’d taken care of yourself when you were younger you wouldn’t be this sick now.” !!!

She complains about almost everything in Italy, whines about the accommodation, the car, the fact that no one speaks English- and then about the blandness of the more modern hotels. The trip is in the off season, and she is surprised to find things are closed. She complains about how shops close during the week, blah blah blah. She wants to sit down with her mother and air her grievances. She doesn’t. Instead she hollers about how she hates her mother’s walker and throws it in places.

Writing style is excellent, but I didn’t find her take funny and in fact started to dislike her heartily.

Listen, if you are 40 and you are still blaming your parents for how you turned out, you need to grow up. To take your disabled mother on a trip for which you have prepared NOTHING and then rant about how life isn’t all lollipops is childish in the extreme. show less

Non-fiction account of the author’s spiritual journey to determine whether she would become a nun. I have always been curious about why a person is drawn to become a nun, how they live, and what their daily routine is like. This book answers those questions and does so with a large dose of self-deprecating humor. It also involves making peace with a past trauma in her life and explores the role of spirituality in the modern world. It takes the reader behind the scenes into four monastic show more communities, two Anglican and two Roman Catholic in three locations: one in Toronto, Canada, two in the Isle of Wight, and one in North Yorkshire, England.

Jane Christmas is a Canadian whose mother is Roman Catholic, and father was Anglican. She has been a journalist and communications manager in the business and non-profit sectors. She has a different background than I was expecting when reading about nuns, as she has been twice married and is a mother with grown children. I had always thought of nuns as part of the Catholic religion and was unaware that they are also part of the Anglican religion. Since her early years, she had envisioned herself becoming a nun, but had never pursued it. After a marriage proposal from her then-boyfriend, she needed to decide which path to take.

I liked that this book comes right out and says it is about the religious life. It does not masquerade as something other than what it is. Her views can be considered progressive, and she takes the church to task on the treatment of women and the gay community. However, to me it reads more like a memoir, a documentation of her journey in faith toward personal insight, than social commentary. I liked that she shows the power of silence, patience, listening, and contemplation in our increasingly distracted, noise-filled society, and how it can help in gaining internal perspective. Recommended to those interested in spiritual journeys or understanding how a modern convent operates. show less

Jane Christmas writes poignantly about her relationship with her mother. This book is a mix of memoir and travelogue, reminiscent of Bill Bryson. I was an instant fan from the first page!

I love being an armchair traveler and Jane Christmas has made it a wonderful experience with her rich descriptions of the places and people she visited. I especially like the fact that she does not sugarcoat anything. If an experience was bad, she says it with a touch of self deprecating humor. I laughed show more many times, especially while they were refueling, with her Mother's witty quips.

The best part of this book, even with her frustration and exasperation with her mother, was the obvious love she felt for her mother. She was not shy to admit the difficulties in their relationship. It highlighted the frailty and limitations that comes with age.

I truly enjoyed this book and thank Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and voluntarily review this book. show less

A couple of friends convinced me to read this book because one of them is planning to walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in a few months. Christmas made a huge error at the beginning of her odyssey, when she allowed her 14 travel companions, most of whom she had never met, to believe she was leading the group. The misunderstanding continued when she neglected to set them straight. Most of her account deals with the interpersonal relationships within her group and other people she met show more on the Camino. I found her attitude somewhat irritating. It appeared that she was more concerned with being accepted, and that didn't necessarily involve forming friendships.

I suspect the consultation with her psychic before heading out may have been fictional, but it gave the story a whiff of drama that was a fun touch. Apart from ripping off a fingernail, she didn't suffer any injuries beyond the expected wear and tear of walking 800 kilometres. That she finally reached the end of the walk was surprising, but it was an anticlimactic finish instead of being the grand conclusion of a pilgrimage. I hope my friend has a better time on "the Camino".

I didn't enjoy the story enough to give it any more than three stars, but as an aid to would-be pilgrims it clearly deserves more, so, four stars. show less