About the Book:
Charlie and Lucy Tuttle are committed to each other for life, but that life isn’t turning out quite like they expected. Charlie retired early, but Lucy planned to continue in her position as a music educator in a small Midwestern K-8 school indefinitely. And then the day came when she was forced to retire. Lucy was devoted to the program her father started years ago and now she can only watch as it disintegrates before her eyes. The longer she is separated from the passion of her heart, the more the music fades from her life and she wonders if her faith’s song is fading too. When a simple misstep threatens to silence Lucy forever, a young boy and his soundless mother change the way she sees—and hears—everything.
As the music fades and a chasm separates her from the passion of her heart, will Lucy's faith song go silent, too? Find out in Cynthia Ruchti's new book, Song of Silence. The musical score of her life seems to be missing all the notes. When a simple misstep threatens to silence Lucy forever, a young boy and his soundless mother change the way she sees—and hears—everything.
My Review:
Cynthia Runchi's main character in Song of Silence is a woman in her late fifites (a few years older than me) who was laid off from her beloved job as a music teacher when the program was the victim of budget cuts. Her husband has recently retired from a job that was just that--a job, not a passion. He was looking for a passion and when she was laid off, he assumed she'd join him at it. She feels smothered, and yet she sees her husband's irritating actions for what they are--expressions of love. He wants to spend more time with her and to do things together; she feels smothered and seems to want to be left alone to wallow in her grief.
On the one hand I got a little impatient with her. Yes, she was laid off from a job she loved but on the other hand, she had spent previous summers giving private music lessons and presumably could have done so again this summer. It is also not a reach to figure that with the school dropping music, there would be more demand more private lessons, not less. Instead of teaching private lessons that summer, she waits tables where she did in high school. She sees a counselor who refers her to a group of women in the same boat and it was interesting to hear them discussing the changes in their lives. I have had some recent questions about the long-term viability of my job and have had to consider whether I should move on or stay--and possibly be told that I'd be moving on, whether I want to or not. I get how hard change is at this stage in life. I'm by no means ready to go out to pasture but I'm not striving to take over the world either. I have my niche, I like it and frankly I hope to retire from this job.
Two interesting characters in the book were her daughter-in-law and her step-grandson. The daughter-in-law was deaf and the step-grandson suffered from Asperger's I could relate to many of his issues, having raised an autistic son.
I think Cynthia Ruchti is a fan of music in the schools as we heard a lot about how studies show that those who study music do better in academic areas than those who don't. We meet a former student who credits her with putting him on the path to his current non-musical profession.
The book is Christian fiction and mentions prayer and faith but unless you are anti-faith, I don't think there is enough religion in the book to turn you off. There are no lectures or sermons and nobody has a great faith experience in the book. Lucy is a woman of faith and and that does affect the way she deals with the world.
One thing this book shares with much Christian fiction is its happily ever after ending.
I'd like to thank the nice folks at Litfuse for providing a complimentary review copy for the purpose of this blog tour. Grade: B+
Celebrate the release of Song of Silence with a blog tour and giveaway. Two winners will be chosen!
One grand prize winner will receive:
- A copy of Song of Silence
- A $150 Visa cash card
- A copy of Song of Silence
- A music-themed prize pack filled with goodies hand-picked by Cynthia
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