It doesn’t have to be this way, I was going to say, just do the bits you actually enjoy, nothing bad will happen. Gudrun, the strong and beautiful central character of the 13th-century Laxdæla Saga, marries four times and raises two sons. Violence, breakdown and suicide peak at Christmas when the cracks were already there and the intensifying of pressure over the holidays breaks them wide open. I don’t for a moment think that love means never having to say you’re sorry. Love means having the grace and space to say sorry as frankly and often as necessary, and more importantly working seriously to stop doing the things about which we are sorry.

Source: The Irish Times December 08, 2025 12:00 UTC