Introduction

When someone buys the old Honeycutt house, Nora Bonesteel is glad to see some life brought back to the old mansion, even if it is by summer people. But when they decide to stay through Christmas, they find more than old memories in the walls.

On Christmas Eve, Sheriff Spencer Arrowood and Deputy Joe LeDonne find themselves on an unwelcome call to arrest an elderly man for a minor offense. As they attempt to do their duty, while doing the right thing for a neighbor, it begins to look like they may all spend Christmas away from home.

In a story of spirits, memories, and angels unaware, Sharyn McCrumb revisits her most loved characters who know there is more to this world than the eye can see, especially at Christmastime.

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Excerpt

Well, it just doesn’t seem right, that’s all. Arresting somebody on Christmas Eve.” Spencer Arrowood shivered as a gust of wind hit him. The fleece-lined glove he had just dug out of the pocket of his non-regulation sheep- skin coat spun away from his numb fingers and landed with a little plop in a not-yet-frozen mud puddle beside the curb. With a weary sigh, the sheriff picked it up and flicked at the mud with his hand. “By rights, we ought to be heading home by now.” ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. Through the memories of Nora Bonesteel, we see 1940’s Christmas traditions in the Tennessee mountains. What holiday traditions do you remember from when you were growing up?

2. Stories of people having an ability like Nora Bonesteel’s Sight are not uncommon among families of Scots / Irish / Welsh descent. Are there any incidents like this in your family?

3. The Havertys’ CD of comic holiday songs aroused the ire of the ghost. What holiday song do you find most annoying?

4. What do you think would have happened at the Shulls’ place if Joe LeDonne had gone there alone?

5. In the beginning of the book, Spencer Arrowood made a wish for Christmas. Did his wish come true, and if so, how?

6. Shirley Haverty is warned that traditional mountain people tend to be more formal than most people nowadays. They are not as quick to use first names of people they’ve just met, and they tend to be wary of instantly over-friendly people, suspecting them of ulterior motives. Do you think there is a difference between real friendship and general sociability?

7. When Nora was a child, her father taught her to recognize the different woods from which he made furniture. Assemble a collection of wooden objects (for example, carved spoons or spatulas) and see if you can tell one type of wood from another.

8. If you had a Christmas tree to represent the area or culture that you come from, what would it look like?

9. Considering Tom Honeycutt and the 1940’s song I’ll Be Home for Christmas, explain why you think Tom was annoyed by the Havertys’ holiday decorations and music.

10. Oak, ash, and thorn were considered magic trees in ancient Britain. Research British folklore and see what beliefs were connected to each species of tree. (Ash refers to the Rowan tree, which today is sometimes called Mountain Ash.)

11. When Nora was a young girl, she won a bead necklace playing a game at a neighborhood Christmas party. Why did her cousin Sarah say that it was not fair that Nora won?

12. “Crocodiles smile.” Discuss Joe LeDonne’s philosophy. Is he wise or too distrustful of people?

13. Miss Ida Honeycutt made a quilt for her son who was overseas in World War II. What do you think it might have looked like?

14. When Nora saw Tom Honeycutt, she did not ask him how it felt to die or what it was like where he was now. Would you have asked him? What do you think he would have said?

15. Nora Bonesteel was helping Shirley Haverty plant a garden filled with plants native to the region. What plants would you expect to see in a garden in the mountains of east Tennessee or western North Carolina?

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