Song of Silence

By Cynthia Ruchti

Description:

Lucy and Charlie Tuttle agree on one thing: they’re committed to each other for life. Trouble is, neither of them expected life to look like this. While Charlie retired early, Lucy is devoted to a long-term career . . . until the day she has no choice. Forced to retire from her position as music educator in a small Midwestern K-8 school, Lucy can only watch helplessly as the program her father started years ago disintegrates before her eyes. As the music fades and a chasm separates her from the passion of her heart, Lucy wonders if her faith’s song has gone silent, too. 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.

Book Takeaway:

Hold onto hope even when life’s song is silenced, even when unexpected and unwelcomed pauses interrupt the music.

Awards:

Why the author wrote this book:

I wrote Song of Silence because of a new understanding of the power of life's rests--the silent places--the times when it seems nothing's happening. My father, a music educator, used to say that rests aren't nothingness in music. They're played with the same intensity and focus as the notes on the page. Our souls heal best in the quiet of stilled waters, God tells us. Like many, I probably erred on the side of trying to accomplish something during those imposed pauses rather than soaking in the deep meaning of the rest.