Thursday, August 23, 2012

Mother of Pearl: Luminous Lessons and Iridescent Faith by Margaret McSweeney~Litfuse Blog Tour with review and giveaway


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.


My take on this book:
"Mother Of  Pearl" is a compilation of short stories or essays written by women many whose names were instantly recognizable, such as Suzanne Woods Fisher, Tricia Goyer,and Julie Lessman just to name a few. Stories written by women that will certainly resonate with the women who read them. Whether your a grandmother,mother, or daughter there is something for everyone. When I picked up this book, I intended just to read a few of the stories, but instead devoured the book in one sitting. There were several stories that really stood out for me, such as Tricia Goyer's story about adoption, and Amanda Bennett's story "Make Time for an Encouraging Word" that reminds the reader how important it is to take the time to encourage those around us with a positive word. 

The stories are very quick reads at just two or three pages, and many reference scripture verses. I really enjoyed reading the mini biographies that were included at the end of each story about the contributing author. A great book filled with many pearls of wisdom that will touch the hearts of anyone who reads it. I think this book would make a wonderful gift, especially for anyone needing a positive message. A wonderful gem of a book that has a permanent place in my library. Recommended!


About the author:
Margaret McSweeney is a well-published author often writing online articles for Make It Better (the former North Shore Magazine) and freelance articles for the Daily Herald, the largest suburban Chicago newspaper. In addition, she has authored and compiled several books including A Mother's Heart Knows; Go Back and Be HappyPearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace, Mother of Pearl and Aftermath.
With a masters degree from the University of South Carolina in international business, Margaret became a vice-president in the corporate finance division of a New York City bank and worked there 1986-93.
As founder of Pearl Girls, Margaret collaborates with other writers on projects to help fund a safe house for WINGS, an organization that helps women and their children who are victims of domestic violence, and to build wells for schoolchildren in Uganda through Hands of Hope. For the past 10 years she has served on the board of directors and leadership advisory board for WINGS. Margaret lives with her husband and 2 daughters in the Chicago suburbs.www.pearlgirls.info
Website/Twitter/Facebook

To celebrate the release of Mother of Pearl: Luminous Lessons and Iridescent Faith I'm hosting an evening of chat, laughter, and encouragement on Facebook!
I've invited the Pearl Girl contributors to join us on the evening of September 4th. I'd be so honored if you'd come too!
We'll be giving away a ton of fun stuff {books, gift certificates and a Beautiful Pearl Necklace set}.
Mother of Pearl celebrates the collective iridescence of motherhood. We'll gather to connect, be encouraged and make some new friends!
So RSVP today and then come back on September 4th (at 5pm Pacific, 6pm Mountain, 7pm Central, and 8pm Eastern) and join us for the "Pearl" party. Let's share our stories and encourage one another.
We'll also have an update from the charitiesinvolved with Pearl Girls, Wings and Hands of Hope.

2 comments:

  1. I was wondering about this one, glad to hear it's good!

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    1. JoyAnne, I love reading short stories and some of these were really touching. An added bonus was the fact that many were written by some of my favorite authors.

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