Ms. Carla Damron is a member of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, Columbia. Her book has been chosen for the 2016 One Columbia's One Book, One Community read. Congratulations, Carla.
Pat Conroy's
“jacket blurb” for Carla Damron's novel THE STONE NECKLACE says, “Damron's
masterful portrayal of misery giving way to empathy leads us toward a
glimmering hope of redemption for families and a community on the cusp of bold
rebirth. This is a novelist to be read
again and again.” For any writer, those
words from that wordsmith must be the ultimate validation. For the reader/reviewer they are keys to
analyze and appreciate this lovely, touching novel.
The first
key is “portrayal” for the portraits of the widely diverse cast of characters
in this story are cleanly and honestly drawn. These are real people. Lena
Hastings and her husband Mitch are a
couple you might know if you belong to the country club – they live in a lovely
home in one of Columbia, SC's best
neighborhoods, they are active in their church, supporters and participants in
the community's art circles, the parents of three children. Tonya Ladson, her husband John, and their
young son Bryon are a young family struggling to make ends meet; financial
pressure, the pressure of juggling a small child's needs when both parents are
working, and the pressure of feeling they are not living up to the expectations
of their parents are very familiar to too many young families today. Nurse Sandy Albright has been through
several hells – a miscarriage, a divorce, drug addiction, job suspension – when we meet her as she comes into the
hospital locker room on her first day back at work. And then there's wonderful Joe Booker who has
done some yard work for Mitch Hastings - a homeless man who has found a more or
less permanent shelter in the graveyard up close to the church wall behind Mr.
Pinckney's stone at the church where the Hastings worship.
Joe Booker,
Sandy Albright, Tonya Ladson, and Lena Hastings are the four characters who
form the corners of the frame for this story; but there are many other
wonderfully drawn characters who are woven into their seemingly unrelated
worlds. Each of these four main
characters has known pain and disillusionment; each has battled his or her own
demons. Thus the ground is plowed for
them to be attuned to the pain of others, particularly young Becca Hastings the
teen-aged youngest child of Lena and Mitch. The character of Becca is beautifully drawn. This child on the cusp of adulthood dealing
with peer pressure, insecurity, and then the loss of her father becomes a focal
point for decisions and actions that impact those around her. In their reaction to and concern for her
others are pulled away from their own sorrow and become stronger than they
thought they were because she needs them.
Empathy is
not a synonym for sympathy. It is active, not passive. It is acknowledging, not judging. Rev. Bill Tanner and Mitch acknowledge Joe;
they find work for him when they can; thy don't lecture. Sandy Albright sees the pain in Becca; she
recognizes the struggle Becca has with herself; she doesn't preach but gives
Becca her phone number. Lena's love for
her daughter forces her to look inward and honestly appraise what has happened
in her life, why it has happened, and what steps she must take next. In example after example throughout the book,
from minor characters to major characters, the theme that in interpersonal relationships empathy can emerge and
lead to healing and redemption is brought home.
A final
note, a grace note, this is a novel with deeply important themes about
individuals we care for and the interrelationship of individuals and
community. However, in the depth this
powerful story is humor. The chatter in
Tonya's office with her friend Marion and their immediate supervisor Ruth aka
“Ruthless” is fast and dead-on. The
descriptions of the early attempts of Joe to stay clear of a homeless woman
named Rag Doll are both poignant and funny. The dialogue between Becca and her older brothers as they watch the
football game between the University of South Carolina and Troy State University
with their mascots, the “Cocks” and the “Trojans,” will bring a grin to anyone
with any SC connections,
A melody has
more that one note. A symphony has more
than one theme. A good story invokes
more than one emotion; and this is a very good story.
