2 of 2 copies available
Four years ago, in Ventura, California, Jonell McLain saw a diamond necklace in a local jewelry store display window. The necklace aroused desire first, then a provocative question: Why are personal luxuries so plentiful yet accessible to so few? What if we shared what we desired? Several weeks, dozens of phone calls, and a leap of faith later, Jonell bought the necklace with twelve other women, with the goal of sharing it.
Part charm, part metaphor, part mirror, the necklace weaves in and out of each woman’s life, reflecting her past, defining her present, making promises for her future. Lending sparkle in surprising and unexpected ways, the necklace comes to mean something dramatically different to each of the thirteen women.
With vastly dissimilar histories and lives, the women show us how they transcended their individual personalities and politics to join together in an uncommon journey. What started as a quirky social experiment became something far richer and deeper, as the women transformed a symbol of exclusivity into a symbol of inclusiveness. They discovered that sharing the necklace among themselves was only the beginning; The more they shared with others, the more profound this experience–and experiment–became.
Original, resonant, and beautifully told, this book is an inspiring story about a necklace that became greater than the sum of its links, and about thirteen ordinary women who understood the power of possibility, who touched the lives of a community, and who together created one extraordinary experience.
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
September 9, 2008 -
Formats
-
Kindle Book
-
OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780345509475
-
EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780345509475
- File size: 1207 KB
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
September 1, 2008
Freelance journalist Jarvis ("The Marriage Sabbatical: The Journey That Brings You Home") explores the lives of 13 women from Ventura, CA, from diverse social, educational, and political backgrounds who together purchased an expensive diamond necklace that was beyond their means individually. Cost: $37,000. Jonell McLain first saw the 16.25 carat necklace in a jeweler's window and came up with the idea for a group purchase. What began as a social experiment about ownership and American consumerism became much larger as the necklace took on a life of its own. The group of women, all over 50, used the necklace to generate attention for various fund-raising activities and to raise social awareness in their community. While Jarvis's prose is a bit sentimental, she does offer an engaging snapshot of what it means to be a middle-aged woman in contemporary America. Underlying the light treatment applied to each of the 13 narratives and mini-biographies that make up this work are the deeper issues of aging, health care, retirement, relationships, divorce, sex, and child rearing. A highly readable book recommended for public libraries and any library with an interest in women's studies or studies on growing older. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 5/1/08.]Crystal Goldman, Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake CityCopyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
-
August 1, 2008
Jonell McLain first spotted the necklace in an upscale jewelry store in Ventura, California, in 2004. With a price of$37,000, it was far out of herrangeuntil she got the idea of asking agroup of womento buy and share the necklace. What follows is a leap of faith and an eye-opening experience for everyoneinvolved. The jewelry store owner agrees to discount the necklace if his wife can be part of the group, thus opening up a new social circle for her. Another woman finds thatthe necklace puts spark back in her marriage. Christening the necklace Jewelia, the womenincorporate themselves in the name of the necklace they all share and hold charity events.Although they dont always agree, the 13 women of Jewelia always put the interests of the group ahead of any one individual. Both an interesting social experiment and a heartwarming story, Jarvis chronicle invites her audience into a world oflively, diverse women, and readers are bound to find them good company.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)
-