Ingrid Christiansen's empty nest has her in a funk. It appears none of her six children will be home for Christmas. Because he can see that Ingrid is not herself, her husband John secretly plans a trip to Europe to renew their vows in Paris and then on to Prague, where their youngest daughter is studying. Ingrid throws a monkey- wrench in John's plans when she volunteers to head up the community Live Nativity on Christmas Eve.

John is still reeling from Ingrid's decision when their dog of 16 years becomes ill and needs surgery. There goes the savings for the trip to Europe! If things couldn't get worse, a nephew lands on their doorstep to stay until Ingrid's sister gets out of rehab. Both Ingrid and John question their marriage, their feelings for each other and whether or not any of this can be fixed.

Susan May Warren brings us another delightful story about the Christiansen family. I've visited with these lovely people a couple times before in this beautiful rural Minnesota setting. EVERGREEN is about a broken family trying to put the pieces of their lives back together. They have faced one devastation after another over the past few years. The Christiansens really don't appear too different from any ordinary family with their usual problems. I can even see a little of myself in Ingrid and my husband in John. EVERGREEN is a story about forgiveness, about letting God heal your heart. Ms. Warren incorporates enough details from other stories about this family to help you understand some of their background, so this story can stand alone and should be an encouraging, inspirational Christmas read.