Mother of Pearl
Buy Mother of Pearl:
She spent her life protecting other people’s children.
Nothing prepared her for the child she couldn’t protect.
High school guidance counselor Barrie Graeber has built her life around helping teenagers make wise choices. Every day she counsels broken hearts, calms anxious parents, and reminds struggling students that one mistake doesn’t have to define a lifetime.
Then her own daughter makes one.
When seventeen-year-old Pearl’s carefully planned future unravels after a devastating betrayal, the steady foundation Barrie has spent years building begins to crack. As grief, rebellion, and long-buried family wounds collide, Barrie discovers that love alone cannot shield the people she cherishes most from the consequences of their choices.
Determined to hold her family together, Barrie fights for her daughter, her marriage, and the future she desperately believes is still possible. But as one painful revelation leads to another, Barrie must decide how far she’ll go to protect the people she loves—and whether a family tested by heartbreak can ever become whole again.
An unforgettable story of family, forgiveness, and the extraordinary strength found in ordinary people, Mother of Pearl will resonate with readers who treasure emotionally rich women’s fiction where every page reminds us that even broken families can find their way back to one another.
Perfect for readers of Kristy Woodson Harvey and Susan Wiggs.
What others are saying:
“I started and finished Mother of Pearl in one night. There is no better endorsement than simply not being able to put a book down.”
~ Tina Sloan, Author of Changing Shoes, and television star from widely popular GUIDING LIGHT
“Kellie Coates Gilbert’s debut novel kept me turning pages and on the edge of my seat. Wonderful, richly-drawn characters who drew me to their hearts despite their flaws. Mother of Pearl carries a sobering message but it’s deftly threaded through a story that is anything but sober. I will eagerly await Gilbert’s next offering.”
~ Deborah Raney, author of the Hanover Falls Novels series from Howard/Simon & Schuster
“A cautionary tale for our times, Mother of Pearl is a compelling journey through loss and longing, grief and redemption, crime and justice. Kellie Coates Gilbert unfolds her story with the sensitivity of a skilled writer .”
~ Lisa Wingate, National bestselling, award-winning author of Dandelion Summer and Blue Moon Bay
“Heart-wrenching yet filled with grace and hope, Kellie Coates Gilbert’s Mother of Pearl is beautifully written and a book that needs to be read by everyone with a child or grandchild.”
~ Ane Mulligan, Senior Editor NOVEL ROCKET
“A story that could have come from today’s headlines, Mother of Pearl is a compelling, thought-provoking debut. With impeccable prose, Kellie Coates Gilbert kept me turning pages in this high-stakes story of one mother’s quest for healing and justice.”
~ Carla Stewart, award-winning author of Chasing Lilacs and Stardust
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