Pearls and Knots is a tell-it-like-it-was memoir, savoring the silly and the humorous, gritting its teeth in the rollercoaster moments, and coasting with the flow of life, plus the wisdom learned from others. The book’s reviews center on the memories sparked in the readers’ lives, highlighting the meaningful moments in all our relationships. A treasured review comment, “light as breath, yet profound,” helps her know the journey was worth the late nights, after all her daytime jobs were finished.

The memoir’s title comes from an early morning poem which sprang almost full-grown several years back. “Mother’s Pearls.” Dedicated to Stella Ray, Sarah’s mom, it references her string of pearls which was the one piece of jewelry she owned, captured in subtle sepia tones in two early 1920’s photographs.

Growing up in Dubuque, Iowa, and graduating from the University of Iowa, Sarah crosses the Mississippi on the Julien Dubuque Bridge to live in several cities, before settling in the Chicago area to teach and raise her three children with her husband, Otto. A late-in-life author, Sarah credits laughter and chocolate with keeping her on track when the roads and her mind were a bit washed out, and things got rough.

The Book Excellence Awards wrote that Pearls and Knots is a beautifully written memoir. In the book, Sarah Ray Schwarcz presents an intimate look at her life, inviting the reader into a wide range of experience that spans multiple decades. She captures and details many experiences of family relationships, loss, and carrying on—as we all must do. From the very first page, the story draws you in and tugs at your heartstrings. Sarah writes in a way that is both deeply personal and universal, and her writing will make you feel as though you are living and breathing each moment with her. Overall, Pearls and Knots, Dancing on a String from the Mississippi to Lake Michigan is a truly uplifting memoir that showcases the power of the human spirit in its ability to persevere and thrive.