Review: Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy by Beth Kempton

3 stars for Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy by Beth Kempton.

I bought two non fiction books in Scotland last month - yes, two out of sixteen books altogether. I have already read and reviewed the first non fiction Cider with Rosie. This is the second one. Priced at GBP7.79 for a hard cover, it is an absolute steal. And the best part is, I cannot find any visible damage on the book, the very reason it was marked down from GBP12.99.

This book shares with us what it means to celebrate Christmas. It is in fact, a book for life, not just for Christmas. Filled with personal stories, it offers good advice for slowing down and staying calm to enjoy the Christmas magic during the festive season.

Perhaps it is the timing or the season in one's life, I find that chapter 6 on honoring the melancholy resonates the most with me. Indeed, grief is a part of life, and sometimes life can be hard, and hard to understand. As quoted, according to Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK, "Loneliness is a feeling people experience when the relationship they have do not match up to those they would like to have. When this feeling persists it can have a negative impact on wellbeing and quality of life."

On the theme of loneliness, the author shares some really good tips on how to deal with it. Loneliness is often invisible. Most people will not tell you that they are suffering. As such, we cannot tell someone else's emotional experience, and it is not just during the Christmas season, it could be any time of the year - the shadow of loss, the beating heart of sorrow, the searing pain of loneliness and the full ache of wishing things are different. We can only help to reduce the pain of loneliness and elevate spirits by being kind to one another.

If I ever read this self-help book a second time, I hope I will feel differently when I come to chapter 6 again.


Publisher: Piatkus
Publication date: 3 Oct 2019

*** Favourite Quote 1 ***

With each passing year I am more aware how much I enjoy the simple life. I have learned that a calm Christmas is usually a good Christmas, which leads into a happier New Year.

*** Favourite Quote 2 ***

Loneliness is a feeling people experience when the relationships they have do not match up to those they would like to have. When this feeling persists it can have a negative impact on wellbeing and quality of life. It is similarly common at all ages, but the circumstances which trigger loneliness can vary by age: for younger people this might be leaving education, whilst for older people loneliness can begin with the loss of a spouse or the onset of poor health.

- Caroline Abraham, charity director of Age UK

*** Favourite Quote 3 ***

Loneliness is often invisible. Most people will not tell you that they are suffering, so you might have to pay close attention. If you detect something is wrong, let them know you are available to listen. Then if they choose to open up, do just that - listen - without offering unsolicited advice. Simply empathise.

*** Favourite Quote 4 ***

We can never really know what's going on in someone else's heart, because everyone's pain is different. It assumes its own unique form as it evolves over time.

*** Favourite Quote 5 ***

Grief can have a strange effect on the passage of time. A loss may leave you feeling stuck, unable to move forward, yet in other ways life keeps trundling along. Sometimes everyday distractions take over; other times the grief whips you back to the moment when everything changed.

~ Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy
Beth Kempton

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This is a book about Christmas. But it's also a book about belonging, connection, self-care, joy and ordinary magic.

Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year offers inspiration for a new kind of holiday season - one where you radiate calm and cultivate delight. Spanning late November to early January, Calm Christmas embraces the festive build-up, the celebrations and the turn of the year in a holistic, nurturing way. Beth Kempton will whisk you away from the frenetic energy of the high street and invite you to come sit awhile by the fire, pausing to explore what a more mindful festive season could mean for you.

Full of personal stories, tips and advice for slowing down, staying calm and connecting with others, it offers a welcome retreat from the pressure to create 'the perfect Christmas'.

At its heart Calm Christmas is about a book about wellbeing in winter, which will encourage you to use this time of natural hibernation to germinate new dreams and nurture a beautiful life in the year ahead. Instead of entering January exhausted, further in debt, and already regretting broken resolutions, you will begin the New Year with precious memories, feeling rested, rejuvenated and inspired.

This atmospheric book will lead you through the darkness of winter, back to the enchantment of an authentic and meaningful Christmas and New Year.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

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