Mary Christmas: Short Stories Spanning Two Centuries
by Diane Gustafson

Each of these stories takes place at Christmastime,
the first in 1808 and the last in 1996, and features a main character whose first name is a variant of Mary. Several are children, including an Irish orphan, a girl
who camps out in the family's fallout shelter, a girl
who denies she needs glasses,and a seven-year old
facing a traumatic tonsillectomy. Among the adults
are a slave owner, an abused wife, a Sioux maiden,
a Russian mail-order bride, a "slob who was robbed",
and a mother whose grown son no longer needs her.

Some stories will evoke laughter, others tears. All
will show the resilience of the human spirit.