A Really Huge Christmas Carol, Believe Me

In this updated version of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge has been replaced with Donald Trump, and Jacob Marley with Fred Trump, his father. The three spirits are there to guide Trump through a Christmas Eve like no other. But, this isn't just a retelling of that story. It is a political satire, and as such is meant to be both humorous and critical of its' target, Donald Trump. Some of the jokes and references are to events In Trump's past, but a simple internet search can fill in any gaps for those who don't know his history, or the history of the various New York City based characters he comes across that night. It is not entirely negative. As in the original Christmas Carol, this one ends on a note of possible redemption. It is, after all, a work of fiction. In the same way that Scrooge saw the error of his ways, and changed them, so this book holds out the possibility, however slight, that Donald Trump might start to look at things differently. Besides, this book is a lot cheaper than four years of psychotherapy or daily doses of Prozac.

Alec Pruchnicki is a physician with a geriatrics primary care practice in a Medicaid supported assisted living facility. He has been a long time activist in the movement for a single payer, Medicare for all, health system in the United States, and has been active in his neighborhood political club to further that goal. The recent presidential election threatens to bring about policy changes which could seriously hinder his ability to care for his patients and prevent them from getting the services they need. These potential threats prompted the writing of this book. Logic and facts have not resulted in a national health system, so maybe satire and humor can. Dr. Pruchnicki was born in Newark, New Jersey, grew up in The Bronx, and attended Fordham College and the City University of New York before earning his medical degree at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. His medical residency was at Overlook Hospital in New Jersey and his geriatrics fellowship at the University of California at Los Angeles. His work since completing training has been mostly caring for patients, but also with some research in the basic science of Alzheimer's disease and in medical outcomes for geriatric patients. Other than professional articles and volunteer writing for a community based newspaper in his neighborhood, Dr. Pruchnicki has only now started to write for a wider audience. This is his first book for a general audience.