December on 5C4 is a vibrant tale of magical realism set during the Christmas season, weaving together threads of Jewish folklore, New Testament narratives, and Santa Claus legends. This story unfolds in the unique environment of an urban psychiatric hospital, where the boundaries between reality and the supernatural blur. As the winter holidays progress, Josh and Nick—two very different patients, one with similarities to Jesus and the other Santa—find themselves on an unexpected journey of self-discovery and transformation. Their evolving friendship and shared experiences challenge them to reconcile their pasts, embrace their identities, and navigate the complexities of mental illness. December on 5C4 is a compelling exploration of belief, identity, and the magic that can emerge in the most unexpected of friendships.
Praise for December on 5C4
"An intense novella of ideas that looks into the heart of faith and generosity."
— Kirkus Reviews
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"Adam Strassberg dives into the deep end of human experience. He is unafraid of any subject, especially the ones most of us avoid: religion, sex, politics, money, mental health, and our deepest fears about who we are. In December on 5C4, Adam reinterprets common mythology with humor and depth, inviting us to understand mental illness and our shared stories in a new way. You might experience him as either a dangerous heretic or an insightful oracle. I think he may be both."
—Rev. David Howell, Senior Minister, First Congregational Church of Palo Alto, UCC
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"A unique tale for these times, where someone who might be Jesus meets someone who might be Santa on a psych ward at Christmas. Drawing from myth, religion, experience, and imagination, Adam Strassberg takes us on a tale that is both familiar and not, until we reach an end of hope and love. It is a Christmas story worth reading again and again."
— The Reverend Beth Neel, Presbytery of the Cascades
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"Adam Strassberg's novella, December on 5C4, is infused with deep religious knowledge, expert understanding of the experience of delusions and voices in one's head, and humor, which together entice the reader to keep turning the pages. The story weaves together Jewish and Catholic teachings, elements of the Christmas holiday, and the pain of mental illness, poverty, and homelessness. The richly detailed narrative presents engaging discussions of the nature of God and life-guiding ethics while bringing to life its characters, settings, events, the spiritual world, and the Christmas fable. A most enjoyable read for the Holidays or anytime."
—Lorrin Koran, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford Medical Center
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"Josh, a homeless Jewish apostate who hears the voice of God, spends Christmas in a psychiatric hospital after a spat with his boyfriend. There he meets Nick, a cocaine-addicted capitalist Santa-analogue whose belligerent jollity proves the biggest challenge yet to Josh's faith. Together, they hatch a plot to escape from the ward and get each other back on the right track.
With this culture clash of a story, Adam Strassberg has achieved a Christmas miracle. It's about mental illness and religion and addiction and love and loneliness - but the real miracle is that it never feels heavy; it never feels disrespectful. Quite the opposite: it's funny, sensitive, thought-provoking. The misfit characters are full of delightful contradictions. The prose is well researched; quotable; fizzing with vitality. It builds to a tense climax, and kept me guessing right to the end. One of the most refreshingly original things I've read in a long time."
— Charlie Fish, Editor-in-Chief of Fiction on the Web
