“Bah, Humbug!” by Heather Horrocks

Over this holiday break, I read through Heather Horrocks’ “BAH, HUMBUG! (A Romantic Comedy Christmas Novella).” I didn’t expect to find an underlying message about loss and grief, but, alas, there it was, nestled among this lighthearted story of holidays and family.

The plot brings together Lexi Anderson, an up-and-coming “Martha Stewart-type TV hostess”, and Kyle Miller, the author of the popular (fictitious) “Jared Strong” adventure novels, which Lexi’s kids happen to love. And they just happened to have moved in next door to him right before Christmas.

Alongside the sweet romance that sparks between the main characters, Horrocks weaves stories of grief and healing between their families. The Miller family hasn’t enjoyed a Christmas in 22 years, since Kyle’s mother died one Christmas Eve. Lexi, however, is determined to work her housewarming magic and bring holiday cheer to the sad and cranky family. In order to get them to share and heal from their grief, she has to share her own losses.

Despite her cheery disposition, the perky homemaker is no stranger to loss. Lexi’s parents died in an accident when she was seventeen, and the loss of her grandmother years later finally left her feeling completely alone. Over the years, Lexi has been able to work through her grief, and she shares her experience with the Millers to teach them that it’s okay to talk about their grief and the love for the mother and wife they lost.

The book culminates in a heartwarming conversation among Kyle, his brothers, and his father, as they begin to pour out decades-old memories. After suppressing the memories, the love, and the pain for so many years, they are bursting with them. The experience is exhausting, but helps them realize that they can, indeed, be a family during the holidays. Here’s an excerpt from that conversation, during which the brothers reminisce about finding notes from their mother in their lunch boxes each day:

“Kyle cried. So did Kenneth. And Keefe. They all had those notes of love from long ago.

Finally his father spoke, his voice halting and cracking. ‘She wanted us to go to church that Sunday before Christmas, but I said I wasn’t in the mood to go. And then the next week we were all in church for her funeral.’ His voice broke. ‘And I remember how beautiful she was. My beautiful Gabriella. I miss her so much.’

…This was the worst of times. And, for the first time in twenty-two years, Kyle could feel that it could become the best of times. If they could just let go of the hurt and the regrets and remember the good.”

Credit: mirror.co.uk

Though the heart-wrenching storyline came as a surprise, I was happy to find it nestled among the cheerier themes of the holidays and romance. Loss and grief aren’t erased during the holidays. They are, in fact, often highlighted when families come together like this. This fact can keep families apart, as it did for so long for Kyle and his family, the pain of being together without the person who has died too much to face. The message Horrocks shares through Lexi’s kindness and wisdom is that, eventually, we have to accept this grief for what it is and learn to heal and be with the people we love. As Lexi states, “Sometimes you need to go back to that painful place before you can go past the pain and find any joy.”

With a commitment to healing, we can see a happy ending to the story of these families. The book promises, “Families join together and hearts are healed as this couple goes walking in a winter wonderland.”