From Publishers Weekly
Marketed as a Mother's Day title, this book offers three novellas about motherhood, hung along a single story line (the discovery of a long-lost "story jar" in a church) and peppered with short real-life tributes to mothers. Hatcher, Hunt and Bedford all accomplished and well-established Christian writers set out explicitly to honor and encourage mothers. Thankfully, their writing is fresh, insightful and gritty even as it comforts, usually managing to steer clear of the maudlin. The stories profile a mother of two young daughters who faces cancer just as her own mother did before her; a remarried mother working through a difficult relationship with a rebellious runaway daughter turned born-again Christian; and a couple struggling through infertility and the long path to adoption. The book is as much about spirituality and trust in God as it is about motherhood. It captures with surprising sensitivity various scenes of communion with God, and some excruciatingly exquisite moments of parental love. The book would be a far better product without the real-life tributes solicited from a wide range of sources (from well-known Christian writers like Jerry Jenkins to the daughters and grandmothers of the main authors). These are of very uneven quality and disrupt the narrative flow of the novellas. Overall, however, this is a warm, friendly book for Christian women who are trying to raise their children and face their painful problems with both faith and doubt intact. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
In a story collection celebrating various aspects of motherhood, the authors relate stories based on items taken from a story jar, a collection of mementos. In "The Hair Ribbons" by Bedford (Homecoming), a pair of ribbons sent through time by a dead mother's love and faith give strength to her daughter as she faces breast cancer, the same disease that killed the mother. "Heart Rings" by Robin Lee Hatcher (Patterns of Love) bridges the generation gap between mother and daughter as they learn to accept each other based on love and not appearances. In "The Yellow Sock," Angela Elwell Hunt (The Immortal) tackles adoption in a moving story reminiscent of Tracie Peterson's The Long-Awaited Child. With letters and anecdotes about motherhood from family members and other authors, such as Jerry Jenkins, Francine Rivers, Lori Copeland, Debbie Macomber, and more, The Story Jar is a delightful addition to any collection. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
Just in time for Mother's Day gift-giving, The Story Jar honors and blesses mothers of all ages for their faithful, enduring love. When a newly-widowed woman shares three stories, Beth Williams draws comfort and encouragement from the lessons learned by other mothers before her. These inspiring novellas are enhanced by tributes to their mothers from Jerry Jenkins, Francine Rivers, and many others. This book will inspire women to rejoice in the gift of children and to rely on the strength of God even as they reverence generations of mothers who have come before them.


About the Author
Robin Lee Hatcher is the RITA Award-winning author of over thirty novels with more than five million copies in print in North America. She is a past president of Romance Writers of America and a popular conference speaker. A native Idahoan, Hatcher and her husband, Jerry, live in Boise. Deborah Bedford's ten novels have sold over a million copies and have been published in twenty different countries in over a dozen languages. Her work has appeared on the USA Today bestseller list and has been named a Doubleday Book of the Month Alternate Selection. Deborah, her husband, Jack, and their two children live in Jackson, Wyoming. Angela Elwell Hunt has authored eighty fiction and nonfiction books for children and adults, including The Tale of Three Trees, an award-winning picture book; Listening with My Heart; and My Life as a Middle School Mom. She and her husband, Gary, a youth pastor, live in Florida with their two teenage children.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

While cleaning in a tiny old church, Beth Williams finds a gallonsized mason jar filled with an odd assortment of items. "It's the Story Jar," explains Mrs. Halley, the newly widowed pastor's wife. "Every item in it represents a mother's story and a miracle of God."

Curious, Beth listens as the tale behind each object unfolds: a blue hair-ribbon and the mother who faces her greatest fear...a silver ring and the woman who finally sees into her daughter's heart...a tiny, yellow sock and the adoption that tests a young mother's patience and faith.

In addition to three heart-wrenching, heartwarming novellas, The Story Jar features true-life tributes to their mothers from Jerry Jenkins, Francine Rivers, Debbie Macomber, and others. This is a book that will lift your spirit and lead you to new faith in the Father as it honors mothers everywhere.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Marketed as a Mother's Day title, this book offers three novellas about motherhood, hung along a single story line (the discovery of a long-lost "story jar" in a church) and peppered with short real-life tributes to mothers. Hatcher, Hunt and Bedford all accomplished and well-established Christian writers set out explicitly to honor and encourage mothers. Thankfully, their writing is fresh, insightful and gritty even as it comforts, usually managing to steer clear of the maudlin. The stories profile a mother of two young daughters who faces cancer just as her own mother did before her; a remarried mother working through a difficult relationship with a rebellious runaway daughter turned born-again Christian; and a couple struggling through infertility and the long path to adoption. The book is as much about spirituality and trust in God as it is about motherhood. It captures with surprising sensitivity various scenes of communion with God, and some excruciatingly exquisite moments of parental love. The book would be a far better product without the real-life tributes solicited from a wide range of sources (from well-known Christian writers like Jerry Jenkins to the daughters and grandmothers of the main authors). These are of very uneven quality and disrupt the narrative flow of the novellas. Overall, however, this is a warm, friendly book for Christian women who are trying to raise their children and face their painful problems with both faith and doubt intact. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal