Pearl's Oyster, A Memoir tells the story of a woman's triumph in clarifying and coming to terms with family dynamics and their wider implications across other landscapes of her life. Born prematurely and sickly, a scrawny Clarissa Anderson was the second daughter in an already broken family that would grow into even more disjointed parts. Having inherited more than a fair share of her mother's traits - a blessing to some and a curse to others-the solitary, ambitious, and self-determined Clarissa fell in and out of relationships with schools, jobs, and well-meaning, but sometimes opportunistic characters along the way. An eventual measure of success would be compromised by rigid, misguided social rules. Simultaneously cast in the role of family outcast and problem-solver, Clarissa became a convenient scapegoat for her family, inevitably at the worst possible time. Nicknamed Pearl for reasons unlike any Clarissa understood about so precious a gem, she grew and assigned her own meaning to the nickname, despite the intention of those who coined it. Emerging daily from a home where dysfunction developed into quagmires too complicated for easy explanations, Clarissa strove to build a life necessarily propped against the strength of a carefully crafted personality, one which she would refine along the way as needed for her survival. Adulthood propelled a bewildered Clarissa on a quest to resolve the myriad contradictions occurring in and around her as she traversed the complex terrains of religion, education, work, and relationships. From a distance much looked normal; but up close the trained eye could discern that something was amiss. What had almost worked for years was becoming untucked. At the dawning of midlife, Clarissa began re-evaluating her roles, and a well-disguised reality unveiled itself, beginning with Clarissa's mother, the "virtuous" matriarch whose uncharacteristic self-undoing and sudden death led to an exhausting aftermath. Daring to investigate the meaning of so much chaos, Clarissa's inquisitiveness opened a plethora of intrigues. To avert further injury, an exhausted and dejected Clarissa closed out one life to begin a new one in another city. Her shell had begun cracking under the strain of an unclaimed identity. Life came full circle when the ultimate intrigue was laid bare, demystifying a lifetime of paradox. Clarissa discovered unspoken causes and a misdirected target of family scorn. Pearl's Oyster is that rare memoir that reads like fiction - sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. This fast moving, multigenerational saga is sure to pull you in its grip, holding you fast until the last page is turned.