Blog Tour: Mother of Pearl

Welcome to the blog tour for Mother of Pearl, compiled by Margaret McSweeney!

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 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 Happy; Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace, Mother of Pearl and Aftermath.

With a master’s 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

Buy the book here: http://ow.ly/cTZAg 

Review:

Mothers come in many different shapes and forms, but they touch almost all of our lives in one way or another. This book is a tribute to mothers of every kind. In a series of short essays, a number of different authors share a short story of love and inspiration about an important woman from their life. From birth to death, motherhood to grandmotherhood, all aspects of life are covered by the various stories. Some stories are funny, and some are touching. They all share a common thread of reminding us all of the wonderful things that mothers have done for our lives.

Each of these stories is rather short, so this is a perfect book when looking for a moment of inspiration. Even the busiest person can easily find time to read one of these stories. The entire range of life is covered very well. I especially loved Tricia Goyer's message about adoptive mothers. It was a beautiful testament to the love that an adoptive mother can have for her child. Bonnie St. John also had a wonderful story about trying to fill her mother's shoes. Her mother really sounds like an amazing person, and her story really made me want to go out in the world and help more people. 

This book would make a wonderful gift for a special woman in your life. By keeping the stories short, it helps to make the book accessible to anyone. It also allows you the time to read the story and have some time to really think about what you read. This book will help you find inspiration and appreciation for all the wonderful women that touch your lives. 

Book provided for review.

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 charities involved with Pearl Girls, Wings and Hands of Hope. (See what others are saying about Mother of Pearl.)