Song of Silence, book review

Ruchti, Cynthia. Song of Silence. Abingdon Press, 2016. 320 pages. Hardcover $24.99, 978-1501816376.  Trade paper $14.99, 978-142-679-1499. Kindle $10.49, B016DZ3S68.

A symphony of language, emotion and movement, Cynthia Ruchti’s Song of Silence is a must-read title due out in April, 2016. Lucy Tuttle has devoted her life’s work to the children’s music program started by her father at the Willowcrest School, a small K-8 public school, and is devastated when budget cuts eliminate the town’s art and music programs. Still in her late fifties, Lucy is not ready to join her devoted husband, Charlie, in retirement—a venture he entered early and with which he is content—but job opportunities are scarce. Empty-nesters at loose ends until the RIF brings Lucy home full time, Lucy is not ready when Charlie wants to involve her in his new adventure in vermiculture. An endearingly annoying character, Charlie is devoted to his marriage to “LucyMyLight” and is clueless as to how a surprise retirement party might not be the best after-school activity he could plan for her just now. Encouraged to seek counseling, Lucy works with a wise woman weathering her own transitions and is lead to the HHATT book group, whose members support her as she struggles with questions of faith and self-worth through job loss, living with Charlie, learning of her son's impending marriage to a woman they have yet to meet and of her daughter's unexpected love interest. When an accident severely damages her vocal chords, God’s grace and mercy shepherd Lucy and her family as each member enters a new phase of life. Beautifully written and thoroughly engaging, Song of Silence is a gift for readers that belongs on library shelves, in book groups and gift-wrapped packages and on wise women’s lists of Christian fiction waiting to be read. 

Full disclosure: I received a free, advance reading copy of this book from Abingdon Press in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.