The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah, Jean Meltzer
This book made me cry, and not just at the end.
Evelyn Schwartz has one goal in life: to be the best TV producer. To achieve that, she will work through punishing migraines, always driven to get ahead. As she is buckling down to direct a live television performance of A Christmas Carol, starring a famous pop star/actor in the Scrooge role, her migraines return with a vengeance, but now they seem to contain hallucinations: the ghost of her late mentor appears, urging her to live more of her life rather than sacrificing it all for her career. In order to learn what's important, she's going to be haunted by eight Hanukkah spirits.
This sounds like it might be silly, but it truly isn't. One of the casualties of Evelyn's career resolutions was her marriage to Daniel, a lifelong friend and supporter who willingly gave up his own career goals to support her. But two years earlier, their marriage ended in divorce after Daniel walked out on her.
Or did he? Because as the spirits show, Evelyn isn't remembering things quite as they were. But now Daniel is the temporary doctor at her production studio and he's worried about her sudden fainting spells and talking about hallucinations. He's also still in love with her (and her with him, despite his leaving).
Despite the spirits occasionally being funny, this is a tearjerker. And no, Evelyn is not berated for her ambition. The pop star actor is really weird; reminds me of the dude in the "Icarus" episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, only he truly can act.
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