SLEEPING BEARS: A Modern Christmas Carol

by Dennis Foley

JACK DOYLE is running out of time.

A proud Irishman with a lifetime of secrets tucked just beneath the surface, Jack has spent years holding his family together the only way he knows how—by keeping the past buried. But as Christmas approaches and his health fades, the truth he’s kept hidden from his children threatens to outlive him.

His 29-year-old daughter, Finleigh, an artist with a sharp tongue and a restless spirit, has spent her life navigating the silence surrounding her mother’s disappearance. When Jack begins sharing bits and pieces of secrets from the past, Finleigh pushes forward in her search for answers.

Then the spirits arrive.

Strange, relentless, and at times absurd, they force Jack to confront the life he’s lived, the choices he made, the truths he hid, and the love he never fully gave voice to.

Set in Chicago’s Canaryville neighborhood, Sleeping Bears is a deeply human, darkly funny reimagining of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

228 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 2026

About the author

Dennis Foley retired from the Army after several tours in Southeast Asia. He served as a Long Range Patrol Detachment commander, an Airborne Infantry company commander, a Ranger company commander, and a Special Forces “A” Detachment commander. After the Army he started working in Hollywood as an television writer. In addition to his novels, he has written and produced for television and film. He lives in Whitefish, Montana.

Dennis holds an MFA in Writing from Vermont College and is a member of the Writers Guild of America and the Authors Guild.