Mother of Pearl

She spent her career 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.