The Christmas Letters cover

The Christmas Letters

by Lee Smith

This heartwarming story of three generations of Christmas letter writers is about family tradition, family love, family strength - the perfect story to give at Christmas, and to read yourself. Birdie Pickett, her daughter Mary, and her granddaughter Melanie are all storytellers at heart. Their letters - folded inside their Christmas cards - tend to be long ones because they write to explain their lives as much to themselves as to far-flung family and friends. In these vivid, familiar, gossipy letters, Lee Smith's skill at capturing women's voices renders the "clash of generations" - heard here at very close range - as the music of our ever-evolving American family life. It's the perfect music to listen to at Christmastime.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?