, provides an opportunity for readers to draw parallels between the angst and issues of the 1960s through the 鈥�70s, and today. 聽It presents life鈥檚 challenges in a way that speaks to readers young and old, and life鈥檚 ups and downs are mirrored with unsettled travels: takeoffs, landings, and even voyages at sea. After all, life can be a strange voyage, and it can take time to find our sea legs, especially when the adults in our world are ungrounded, themselves. Three of the main characters have brushes with suicide, including one of these same adults, and the book itself opens with a bang, as if to portend a bumpy ride, which is what life is so often like for so many of us:
What a strange and sudden stillness. Full stop in midtown Manhattan, one lovely fall day in 1963. Over the car radio, Skeeter Davis was still singing, asking why the sun kept shining, why the sea rushed to the shore. Wondering, "Don't they know it's the end of the world?"聽
It all happened so fast. Eighteen-month-old Fiona had shaken her special pearl rattle a little too playfully, and it had fallen at her mother's feet near the accelerator. Peggy had reached for it, looking down for a moment to see where it was. What happened next? Hard to tell. The next thing she knew...BAM!...her front bumper crumpled as it met the car in front of her. BANG!...the truck behind them had plowed into them. Hard. Between the jolts, Fiona had gone flying into the dashboard. And then came that eerie stillness.聽聽 聽
聽This book delves into the catalysts of resiliency, and charts a path of one young teen鈥檚 journey to faith and freedom amidst times -- times that were, then as now, marked by fractured families, societal strife, concerns about war, and fears for the future. 聽It asks us whether it's the events of our lives (pearls) that define us, or the stories (threads) on which we hang them that matter most.聽
聽CRITICAL REVIEWS
鈥淪peeth's wit reminds one of a GK Chesterton, and her descriptive writing and the joy embedded in it have been a delight. I suspect that the Spirit of Jesus hovers in and around these pages.鈥� 鈥� Rev. Dr. Randy White, Fresno Pacific University聽
鈥淕reat story with a main character readers will feel close to.鈥� 聽鈥� Joshua M. Patton, IndieReader聽
鈥淭hread for Pearls is inspirational as its heroine overcomes complicated circumstances in her search for home.鈥� 聽鈥� Edith Wairimu, Foreword Clarion Reviews聽
鈥淎n incredible read. Speeth captures the intrigue and drama of the times,聽 and sets them in the personal life of the fascinating Fiona.鈥澛� 鈥� Jay Beck,聽 The Carter Center聽
鈥淛ourneying with Fiona through a landscape so breathtakingly fresh and clear, I found myself transported back,聽 my own memories reawakened. Cheering her on, I didn鈥檛 want it to end. Bring on the sequel!鈥� 鈥� Carol Anderson, Carol Anderson Design
鈥淪peeth's narrative fits well into the important tradition of Bildungsroman.鈥� 鈥� Dr. Elisabeth Siekhaus, Professor Emerita, Mills College聽 聽聽聽
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Here is a link to the Thread for Pearls promo .
And here is an article by Lauren Speeth with regards to mental health and this book: