Thanksgiving is almost here, and that means Chanukah and Christmas are not far away, and if like almost everyone else the holidays mean gatherings with your relatives, well, have I got a book for you.Written by part-time New London resident Marci Alborghetti, "The Christmas Glass" is for readers of every faith and background, not just those who celebrate the birth of Jesus every Dec. 25. This is a story about families, and how not-perfect they can be. Those made-for-television Hallmark specials with the relatives all giddy and smiling and gathered around the piano and everyone is singing and happy and you're watching it and thinking, "Not my family."

Written by part-time New London resident Marci Alborghetti, "The Christmas Glass" is for readers of every faith and background, not just those who celebrate the birth of Jesus every Dec. 25. This is a story about families, and how not-perfect they can be. Those made-for-television Hallmark specials with the relatives all giddy and smiling and gathered around the piano and everyone is singing and happy and you're watching it and thinking, "Not my family."Don't try to deny it. We love our parents, siblings, cousins, in-laws, kids and all the rest of them, but oh, how they can annoy us. And don't think they don't feel the same about you.

Don't try to deny it. We love our parents, siblings, cousins, in-laws, kids and all the rest of them, but oh, how they can annoy us. And don't think they don't feel the same about you."Families are complicated. Really complicated," author Alborghetti explains when asked about her book.

"Families are complicated. Really complicated," author Alborghetti explains when asked about her book. She grew up in Saybrook and arrived in New London after detours to Hartford and Stonington, but this woman has local roots. Her mother, Dolores Alborghetti, was the daughter of Margaret Calamari, who hailed from the family that once ran the scrap metal yard down at Fort Trumbull.

She grew up in Saybrook and arrived in New London after detours to Hartford and Stonington, but this woman has local roots. Her mother, Dolores Alborghetti, was the daughter of Margaret Calamari, who hailed from the family that once ran the scrap metal yard down at Fort Trumbull."The Christmas Glass" grew out of Alborghetti's desire to write a book about all the special places she ever visited or lived - places she felt an attachment to. And the seed of the story originated decades ago when Alborghetti, a voracious reader, received a gift of a Christmas book. The story included information about Lauscha, a village in Germany where families were once employed in a cottage industry making magnificent, hand-painted glass ornaments.

"The Christmas Glass" grew out of Alborghetti's desire to write a book about all the special places she ever visited or lived - places she felt an attachment to. And the seed of the story originated decades ago when Alborghetti, a voracious reader, received a gift of a Christmas book. The story included information about Lauscha, a village in Germany where families were once employed in a cottage industry making magnificent, hand-painted glass ornaments.I'm not going to give the plot away, but anyone who is sentimental will soon be sucked into this story about 12 beloved holiday ornaments and how they make their way from war-torn Italy to southeastern Connecticut, and beyond, to Fort Lauderdale and Key West, in Florida, and to Maine and California, and how 50 years later, these precious, fragile glass pieces are reunited by a loving but very complicated Italian family.

I'm not going to give the plot away, but anyone who is sentimental will soon be sucked into this story about 12 beloved holiday ornaments and how they make their way from war-torn Italy to southeastern Connecticut, and beyond, to Fort Lauderdale and Key West, in Florida, and to Maine and California, and how 50 years later, these precious, fragile glass pieces are reunited by a loving but very complicated Italian family."But all families are complicated," says Alborghetti. "It doesn't matter whether they are Italian, Irish, Jewish or whatever, they're always complicated. People love each other. But that love doesn't always fix things."

"But all families are complicated," says Alborghetti. "It doesn't matter whether they are Italian, Irish, Jewish or whatever, they're always complicated. People love each other. But that love doesn't always fix things."How right she is.

How right she is.Even better, Alborghetti's story is true to life. Everyone isn't happy and everything isn't just right.

Even better, Alborghetti's story is true to life. Everyone isn't happy and everything isn't just right."They're not a perfect family," she says, "but they do give us hope, honesty and humor. And I think we would all have a better Christmas season if we had a better understanding that families are not perfect."

"They're not a perfect family," she says, "but they do give us hope, honesty and humor. And I think we would all have a better Christmas season if we had a better understanding that families are not perfect."The book's central character, 84-year-old Filomena, is the well-intentioned but overbearing matriarch that many can relate to. She is a composite, Alborghetti says, of her paternal and maternal grandmothers.

The book's central character, 84-year-old Filomena, is the well-intentioned but overbearing matriarch that many can relate to. She is a composite, Alborghetti says, of her paternal and maternal grandmothers.The story also draws on Alborghetti's own love of everything Christmas and some of her family's traditions - like baking more holiday cookies than could possibly be consumed each year.

The story also draws on Alborghetti's own love of everything Christmas and some of her family's traditions - like baking more holiday cookies than could possibly be consumed each year.But the "The Christmas Glass" isn't really a Christmas book at all. And isn't just for Christians. As these 12 glass ornaments pass through the hands and homes and businesses of evangelicals, Anglicans, Jews and Catholics on their half-century odyssey, author Alborghetti weaves in the complex dynamics of being part of a family. Those tensions and upsets that can divide relatives, and the bonds that reunite them.

But the "The Christmas Glass" isn't really a Christmas book at all. And isn't just for Christians. As these 12 glass ornaments pass through the hands and homes and businesses of evangelicals, Anglicans, Jews and Catholics on their half-century odyssey, author Alborghetti weaves in the complex dynamics of being part of a family. Those tensions and upsets that can divide relatives, and the bonds that reunite them.I don't normally dedicate this space to book reviews, but if you're searching for a special gift for someone this holiday season, a gift of inspiration, consider a copy of "The Christmas Glass." Just make sure to read it yourself before giving it away. It will give you a whole new appreciation of your own family.

I don't normally dedicate this space to book reviews, but if you're searching for a special gift for someone this holiday season, a gift of inspiration, consider a copy of "The Christmas Glass." Just make sure to read it yourself before giving it away. It will give you a whole new appreciation of your own family.Ann Baldelli is associate editorial page editor.

Ann Baldelli is associate editorial page editor.

Editor's note: "The Christmas Glass" is available at City News, 68 State St., New London, and Barnes & Noble, Sam's Clubs, K-Mart, other retailers and at Amazon. From 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, Marci Alborghetti will be signing copies of her book at Thames River Wine & Spirits, 84 Bank St., New London.