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    Return to Christmas: A Contemporary Novel
    Unavailable
    Return to Christmas: A Contemporary Novel
    Unavailable
    Return to Christmas: A Contemporary Novel
    Ebook241 pages5 hours

    Return to Christmas: A Contemporary Novel

    By Kathi Macias

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Return to Christmas beautifully blends the two struggling worlds of a former marine and a little boy with attachment disorder. 


    Former Marine Chet is having a hard time adjusting to civilian life. He doesn't need help. He needs employment. He doesn't have issues. The little boy his friends adopted has issues. But there is something about that little boy that draws him. 


    Will the events leading up to this Christmas be able to melt his soldier heart or will he spiral into a dark depression? Only time will tell. 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNew Hope Publishers
    Release dateOct 5, 2015
    ISBN9781596699373
    Unavailable
    Return to Christmas: A Contemporary Novel
    Author

    Kathi Macias

    Avi Mizrachi was born and raised in a Jewish family in Israel. He served in the Israeli Air Force and did his reserve duties in the Israeli Defense Force. Avi is the founder and leader of Dugit Outreach Ministries. He still resides in Israel today with his wife, Chaya, his daughters and grandchildren.

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    Reviews for Return to Christmas

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      "...he never imagined it would take so long to get back to normal--whatever that might be. Or was this the new normal of his life--unnamed darkness and memories that haunted his every step?" wonders Chet Morton, twice - deployed and returned from Afghanistan. Kathi Macias, the author of Return to Christmas, understands PTSD quite well and evokes a myriad of emotions in the reader as we meet Chet and his wife, Jeneen, and vivacious three year-old, Kevin.You will want to feel sorry for Chet as he struggles to assimilate back into society, shake him as he makes poor decisions, warn him to shape up, etc.Woven into the tapestry of Chet and Jeneen's battle for normalcy and their marriage is the story of three other people whose lives profoundly intersect with those of Chet and Jeneen's. One is Dani, a worker at Kevin's preschool. The other two,actually three, are Breanna, the owner of the preschool, her husband Steve, and their adopted son, Ryan,who suffers from attachment disorder.Kathi Macias creates some wonderfully realistic characters. While I hurt for Jeneen, I also hurt for the confusion of Chet, who is trying to make his way out of the terrors of war without the Lord. Little exuberant Kevin is a delight!! And little Ryan tugged at my heartstrings, even though he avoids people. This is a wonderful, heartwarming story of God's rescue of one of his hurting children just in time for the holiday season. Don't miss it! Return to Christmas is due out on Oct. 5. For myself,I will be looking for other opportunities to read Kathi Macias's work.I gratefully received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      Title: Return To ChristmasAuthor: Kathi MaciasPublisher: New Hope PublishersReviewed By: Arlena DeanRating: FiveReview:"Return To Christmas" by Kathi MaciasWhat I liked about this novel...."Return To Christmas" was a well written story about 'Two Troubled souls' ...a marine who had been through some really bad times after his second deportment from the 'Middle East' only to leave him quite a broken man suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder {PTSD}. This story will also also includes a young child who was suffering from 'Attachment Disorder.' When it is all said and done this author will give the reader a interesting story of 'love, hope, and redeeming faith.' It was a good story of how these two people that needed help in the worst way were able to began the road of hope as each of these families that had struggled so much with these life changing situations. I loved how this author brings out that through 'prayer and faith in God,' each one of these two people were able to come out of this on to the road to healing and recovery. This was definitely a novel of 'unconditional hope, love, above all redemption' and I would highly recommend this novel as a excellent read.I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.War does terrible things to people. Some of it the average person can’t see. Those who deal with PTSD just want to find some semblance of normal. When Chet returns from his second tour in Afghanastan he finds life very difficult. His wife Jeneen does her best to be supportive. Then there is Kevin, their three year old son. The author wasn’t content to have just this one piece of tension running throughout the story. She added several others to the mix. At daycare owner and her husband are the parents of a young boy who has an attachment disorder. Chet’s problems are compounded by the fact he has decided he wants nothing to do with God. Somewhere along the way he has put God out of his life. This makes things a lot more difficult not only for him, but also for his family who hold on tight to God. You really must read this book to see how all of these things, and these people work together to realize that the only way to get through these trials is to pull closer to God. I love Kathi’s work because the story could have been taken from anyone’s neighborhood. I felt sorry for Jeneen. She worked and tried so hard to hold everything together while her husband was in denial about his PTSD. It made me wonder how many families go through this. Maybe it will be what is needed to help one family going through this same situation.
    • 2/5
      After reading the blurb about this book on the Netgalley site, I really wanted to be inspired by the story, to love it, but that never happened. As one reviewer mentioned, this is a book filled with constant references to God and church related activities, which put me off a bit. I guess I am one of the people who, while being a Christian, find this sort of thing disconcerting in a book. The blurb also gave me the idea that this was the story of how one veteran and one toddler, both of whom had their own personal problems because of their respective experiences, fund solace knowing each other and perhaps even resolved some of their issues, but that really never happened. In the story, returning ex-Marine Chet has definite problems due to PTSD. He returns from deployment in Afghanistan to his wife and young son Kevin, but has difficulty adjusting to his life with them after his war experiences. He can find no permanent job. He has had what he considers a useless experience with the VA. He cannot seem to act like a loving husband, though he does more often act like a loving father to his young son. These are just a few of the things that bother him. Another thing that bothers him a lot is the fact that, while he was deployed, his wife found religion. She spends a lot of time praying for him, both inwardly and outwardly, which bothers him a lot. I do not understand why she never sought help for him, asked him to seek help or even really discussed their issues, due to his PTSD, until far along in the bk. I almost got the idea that she felt she was going to and could pray the PTSD away. In addition, she has a friend, whose family is also religious and they spend as much time praying and engaged in religious discussions, praying, etc. while with them. This family has an adopted son with attachment disorder, who reacts to others somewhat like the veteran with PTSD does. Both the veteran and the adopted boy cry out for help, each living through their own hell. Again, no mention of getting professional help. There are instances where the veteran with PTSD and the adopted boy come together in their misery seemingly ready to help one another through it all, but not very many, and, though I was expecting more from their interaction as the book blurb suggested, not much occurred. The story was fine, but there was only the loosest of plots and very little, if any, resolution of the situation in the end. Yes, the veteran with PTSD went to church Christmas Eve. Yes, he had some good thoughts about religion and God, but not much else, and very little else throughout the book. The adopted boy started to come around, but not in any big way, and the author suggested this opening up was occurring with the PTSD veteran, but not in any big way. It seemed as if the author felt the book had to end, so ended it abruptly, with little or no build-up, or resolution of the issues central to the story. However, remember, I said earlier there was a very loose plot, so perhaps there would have been more of a climax had the plot been stronger. I enjoyed reading the book, but did not come away with any warm feelings. It definitely did not fill me with any great sense of the holiday or the holiday’s true meaning. I liked the characters, though there was little development and what did occur was sketchy at best. The two characters I found most interesting where the veteran couple’s young son Kevin and the aid at Kevin’s pre-school/day care, Dani. I received this from NetGalley to read and provide an honest review.