Book Review ~ Mother of Pearl by Kellie Coates Gilbert @KCoatesGilbert

Mother of Pearl

Kellie Coates Gilbert

Fiction/Christian/General

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Back of the book:

How far would you go for your child?

Barrie Graeber has two great kids, a loving husband, and a respected job as the high school counselor in her close-knit community. Without warning, everything unravels when her teenage daughter, Pearl, is betrayed and lashes out.

Nothing prepares this mother for the helplessness that follows when her attempts to steer her daughter back on course fail, and Pearl shuts her out . . . or when Barrie discovers the unthinkable about her nemesis, the football coach.

About the author:

Website: www.kelliecoatesgilbert.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kelliecoatesgilbert

Twitter: @KCoatesGilbert

Kellie Coates Gilbert walked a unique path to becoming a novelist. Her thirty years as a legal investigator and trial paralegal led her to courtrooms big and small, working on cases that often made the evening news. Working directly with survivors of unspeakable tragedies, Kellie learned the most compelling stories don’t show up in the legal aspects of a case, but in the lives of the people involved.

My thoughts:

You are going to want to remember the name Kellie Coates Gilbert. In the back of her debut novel, Mother of Pearl, she says that she writes stories about messy lives and eternal hope. She has definitely done that with this book.

At one point the main character, Barrie Graeber, says that mothering isn’t for cowards. Little does she know how true that statement is going to become. She and her beloved family are busy living the good life when an unexpected turn of events changes everything. It really is every mom’s worst nightmare. Everything that Barrie thought to be true about her family seems to have been turned on end.

Barrie finds out devastating facts about her daughter after it is too late to do anything about it. She learns that her supposedly rock solid relationship with her husband has some cracks. She also learns that everything isn’t always as it appears to be. Sometimes friends come from unexpected places and loved ones have motives that you don’t understand until you’ve walked their path.

If you are a momma, I can guarantee that this book is going to stir you up. Once you start reading this your eyes are going to be opened and self-evaluation will begin. It has been a while since a book has stirred such righteous indignation in me . . . but this one has done it!

“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or

Services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it

on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally

and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance

With the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides concerning the

Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review ~ Mother of Pearl: Luminous Lessons and Iridescent Faith Compiled by Margaret McSweeney

Mother of Pearl: Luminous Lessons and Iridescent Faith

Compiled by Margaret McSweeney

Non Fiction

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Back of the book:

Like oysters, women often encounter unexpected grit during their everyday lives. In response, God’s love and grace covers this grit and transforms the pain into a precious pearl that leaves a layered, luminous lining within a shell: Mother of Pearl. This brilliant luster is strong, lasting, and purposeful—just like the love, lessons, and legacies left by the special women in our lives.

Mother of Pearl celebrates the collective iridescence of motherhood. Margaret McSweeney presents a collection of heartfelt vignettes from authors who communicate the importance of the unique relationships between mothers and their children, between granddaughters and grandmothers and between children and the mother-figures in their lives.

These stories tell of the power of faith, prayer, and values, exploring coming of age, the joy of becoming a mother, the importance of motherhood, the ways to heal from a bad relationship with a mother and weathering the death of a special loved one. Poignant and thought-provoking, the stories serve to inspire, encourage, instill hope, and strengthen faith.

The proceeds from the sale of Mother of Pearl will be donated to organizations helping struggling women and children. The charities include Wings (Women in Need Growing Stronger) to help fund the Safe House in the Chicago suburbs and to Hands of Hope to help build wells for schoolchildren in Zambia.

About Margaret McSweeney:

Margaret is a wife and mother, serves on the Leadership Advisory Board for Wings (Women in Need Growing Stronger). She is the author of A Mother’s Heart Knows and Aftermath:Finding Grace Through Grief and coauthor of Go Back and Be Happy, she also compiled the collection of essays Pearl Girls.

Visit Margaret online at margaretmcsweeney.com

My thoughts:

Mother of Pearl is a book for women, written by a group of ladies from various backgrounds and experiences. It is a compilation of short essays about some of the authors’ most personal experiences as women. Some of my favorite authors like Lis Wiehl, Robin Jones Gunn, Tricia Goyer and Suzanne Woods Fisher have made very touching contributions.

Each article is short enough to be read in a couple of minutes. In fact I carried it around in my purse for a couple of days and would pull it out when I had a lull and quickly read a piece. One of the little touches that I like about the book was the brief biographies that were included for each contributor. Some of the authors were unfamiliar to me and it was nice to read about who they were.

This would be a wonderful gift for any female. Just tuck it into a little gift basket and pass it on to that new momma or that sweet older woman that you admire. They will definitely love it. My copy is going on the night stand in my guest room. I can’t wait to discuss it with my next visitor!

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“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or

Services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it

on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally

and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance

With the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides concerning the

Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”