Mother of Pearl by Kellie Coates Gilbert

Be sure to read to end of post for giveaway details.

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

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

MOTHER OF PEARL is a story that puts absolute truths and convictions to the test. It’s the emotionally riveting tale of a woman who finds she must recognize her own vulnerability and learn to trust in something much bigger.

“Turn around, quick.”

“Pearl—”

“Mom, please—” she pleads. “Just turn around. Hurry.”

I grip the wheel and check my mirrors. Finding the way clear, I whip my Acura around then glance back in Pearl’s direction. “What’s going on?”

She points at a pickup parked near the back of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant. “There.”
I slow the car and my eyes follow where she points to a guy letting a girl out of his truck–Craig’s truck. He bends and kisses her.

My eyes dart back to Pearl. She sees as well. With tears pooling, she barks, “Go! Don’t let them see us.”

I nod and quickly pull away. “Oh, honey . . .”

She holds her hand up. “Mom, stop. Don’t say anything. Not now.”

I watch helplessly while my daughter’s face crumbles and tears roll down her cheeks. I take a frail breath, wanting desperately to find the right words.

When she was little and fell off her bike, I knew how to bandage a scraped knee. And as her heart filled with disappointment in junior high when the principal awarded the coveted science fair prize to someone else, I knew how to salve her hurt feelings. But this time, a still voice deep inside my head warns me to do as she asked and remain quiet. At least for now.

Moms are supposed to run interference for their children, protect them from the hard things in life. Perhaps for the first time, I understand mothers can’t fix all things.

I press my foot on the accelerator and focus on the road ahead, silently driving my daughter and her broken heart home.

In August Kellie appeared on my blog with a featured interview visit here if you missed the interview. 

Kellie Coates Gilbert is a former legal investigator and trial paralegal who writes with a sympathetic, intimate knowledge of how people react under pressure. Kellie’s books tell emotionally poignant stories about women in life-changing circumstances. She writes about messy lives . . . and eternal hope.

 Kellie currently makes her home in Dallas, Texas. Her latest book is the Christian fiction, Mother of Pearl.

Visit her online at www.kelliecoatesgilbert.com.
Connect with her on Twitter at: https://www.twitter.com/#!/KCoatesGilbert
Like her at Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/kelliecoatesgilbert
Purchase your copy of Mother of Pearl at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mother-Pearl-Kellie-Coates-Gilbert/dp/1426733437/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1348334991&sr=8-2&keywords=mother+of+pearl
Pick up your copy of Mother of Pearl at the publisher’s website: http://www.abingdonpress.com/forms/DynamicContent.aspx?id=160&pageid=698
Purchase your copy of Mother of Pearl at Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mother-of-pearl-kellie-coates-gilbert/1108857097

Now for the giveaway  I want to thank Dorothy and Pump up your Book tours for the chance to give a copy of Kellie Coates Gilbert's book Mother of Pearl to one of my readers.  This giveaway is open to US/Canada residents only please.  I will use rafflecopter to pick the winner so be sure to fill out the rafflecopter form.  This giveaway will remain open til Oct. 31st.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more chances to win a copy of this book visit the tour page for other blogs with giveaways.