Pearl and Ruby's choices drove them apart.
Finding their way back to each other might be the only way forward.
The weight of their family secrets could not have shaped Pearl and Ruby Crenshaw any differently. Ruby's a runner, living in Dallas and only reluctantly talking to their mother, Birdie, when she calls from prison. Pearl is still living in her mother's fixer-upper and finds herself facing a line in the sand: her weight is threatening to kill her. She's hundreds of pounds beyond the point where she can celebrate her curves or benefit from the body positivity movement, and unless she takes drastic action, the future looks dire.
But when Ruby's buried rage explodes in a hilariously viral way, the mistake has life-altering consequences. Now the sisters are back living under the same roof and forced to put the pieces of their separate lives together again. Funny, cinematic, and bursting with heart, this is a story of hope and redemption that celebrates the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
Author and freelance writer Wendy Willis Baldwin is a natural born storyteller. Her communications background includes broadcasting, marketing, talk radio, and sales. A native of Texas and a graduate of Texas Tech University, Wendy is a recent empty nester now living on a farm in New England, with one husband, three dogs, and thousands of honeybees. She is the co-host of the Life After Fat Pants Podcast. Her novel, The Sisters We Were, is available for pre-order now and debuts
January 17, 2023.
https://wendywillisbaldwin.com/
My Thoughts
The Sisters We Were by Wendy Willis Baldwin is the story of two sisters Ruby and Pearl. Mostly about Pearl and how she overcomes weighing 531 pounds. Pear and her sister are not as close as they once were, and Pearl would love to be in a better relationship.
The reader learns about the early life of Ruby and Pearl. Their upbringing, the tragic loss of their father, their mother's remarriage to a man who was not what they thought he was. Pearl has always had a weight problem, but it seemed to get worse after her father died. She has felt guilt about this as it happened on the day that she did not want to ride her bike to school, and her father was supposed to pick her up. He died in a car accident on his way to the school.
Pearl works at a care home of which she loves, she adores the residents and has a great relationship with her boss. One day she has had enough with her weight but can't seem to control the binges. She decides to sign up for bariatric surgery. It is rigorous and she doesn't know if she can go through with it. She figures it has to be better than what she has now. A body that keeps her from doing things she used to enjoy.
Ruby on the other hand, seems pretty well put together, but looks can be deceiving. One day she loses it in the park she runs in when a man, who lets his dog do his duty and doesn't clean it up gets what is coming to him from Ruby. Of course, with social media being what it is, it was bound to happen that someone recorded it and put it all over social media.
When Pearl schedules her surgery, she asks her sister if she could come help her with the pre surgery stuff and in the recovery process. Ruby reluctantly agrees but it turns out to be the best thing that she could do. I have to mention that their mother, is in prison for killing her second husband. The reason explains Pearl's eating disorder and weight gain.
I have always had a weight problem, until recently, and I could sympathize with Pearl and so wanted her weight loss to be a success and that she and her sister could have the relationship that they so deserve. I loved the story and hoped that it would have a happy ending.
The reader learns that abuse and trauma can really affect a person. Getting over those abuses takes time, patience and the right support system. Pearl was able finally to take back her body and learn to get over her past abuse. Ruby also was able to grow as a person as she helped Pearl on her journey.
This book touched me in so many ways, it is a great women's fiction novel and should be read, it is a must! I loved it and gave it 5 stars!
I received the book for review purposes only.
