by Jen Campbell
First published 1993
Sarah returns to her childhood home after her grandmother's death to sort through decades of accumulated memories. In the attic, she discovers boxes of handwritten carol sheets and songbooks that span three generations of her family. Each page tells a story of Christmas celebrations, wartime separations, and quiet moments of connection across the years. As Sarah pieces together the musical fragments, she uncovers family secrets that challenge everything she thought she knew about her heritage. The carols become a bridge between past and present, forcing her to confront her own relationship with tradition and belonging. Through the songs her ancestors preserved, Sarah must decide what parts of the past deserve to carry forward and what it means to truly come home.
Genres: literary-fiction, family-life, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, lyrical
Tropes: found-family, secrets
Setting: Attic
Period: Christmas, Wartime
Hardcover · Thomas Nelson