Summary

In Chapter 1, Angela Gillespie prepared to write and send her family's traditional Christmas letter. She'd been sending these letters every year on Dec. 1 ever since she'd married Nick Gillespie 33 years ago and moved from England to his family's Australian sheep station. Writing the letter was usually easy for her but Angela was having trouble getting started on this year's letter. Her children were growing and making their own decisions. The relationship between herself and her husband was strained. She thought about the letters she'd written in the past where she'd passed over any problems the family had. She felt her headache getting worse and wanted to get finished with the letter so she could lie down. She had recently confided in her best friend Joan that she constantly felt the need to tell the truth. Joan encouraged her to do so.

Angela thought...