Tumbling Stones - by Carol Clark Roberts (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Anne Rockford has it all. A handsome husband, a secure marriage, and three wonderful teenage children. But her world tumbles into a nightmare of secrets and lies when she receives a shocking letter: Anne's husband, a popular and respected professor of Romantic Poetry of the 19th century, has seduced not only her best friend but numerous other young women. In the aftermath of this appalling discovery, lives are lost, reputations are ruined, and Anne's own life is threatened. On the coast of California, Anne gathers, tumbles, and polishes beach rocks-one of her hobbies-and muses that, like the rocks crashing into each other in the tumbling drum, some people come out of the process of life's buffeting cracked open by hidden pressures. Others are chipped at the edges, leaving raw surfaces, and still others turn out as clear and lovely as gemstones. Along Anne's painful journey of discovery and healing-as she learns the stories of the damaged women and gains unexpected champions-she encounters all three kinds. Tumbling Stones is the compelling story of a woman who finds the strength to reclaim her life-and her self-worth-after a shattering betrayal. In the aftermath of this appalling discovery, lives are lost, reputations are ruined, and Anne's own life is threatened. On the coast of California, Anne gathers, tumbles, and polishes beach rocks-one of her hobbies-and muses that, like the rocks crashing into each other in the tumbling drum, some people come out of the process of life's buffeting cracked open by hidden pressures. Others are chipped at the edges, leaving raw surfaces, and still others turn out as clear and lovely as gemstones. Along Anne's painful journey of discovery and healing-as she learns the stories of the damaged women and gains unexpected champions-she encounters all three kinds. Tumbling Stones is the compelling story of a woman who finds the strength to reclaim her life-and her self-worth-after a shattering betrayal

About the Author

Carol Clark Roberts, the daughter of missionary parents, spent her early and teenage years in a China occupied by Japanese troops during a brutal civil war and a Communist takeover. Forced to flee, Carol's family returned to the United States, where Carol attended college, married, and started a family. For fifteen years she wrote and photographed original filmstrip stories for schools and churches. Later she turned to writing novels, mostly inspired by her life in China and the research it required. Her first published novel, For the Love of China, came out of this effort. For decades she has been a collector and polisher of rocks from California beaches, an inspiration for Tumbling Stones. She is the mother of eight and the grandmother of fourteen. Carol currently lives in Santa Cruz, California.