This is the first book I've read by Cynthia Ruchti. It's fresh, with realistic characters. Heart touching story. Be sure to check it out for yourself.

Well, first of all Cynthia Ruchti is one of my all-time favorite authors. In Song of Silence, Lucy and Charlie have an empty nest and he is retired. Lucy is ensconced in teaching music in a school program her father started. It's the air she breathes. Lucy comes to life as Cynthia Ruchti writes her inner, ongoing thoughts as she interacts with Charlie, her kids, and her fellow school employees. I related to Lucy as her experiences are similar to ones I have encountered which made reading this book so intimate for me. She struggles with her faith and what she is supposed to feel and act as life happens. Charlie wants to help her and yet sometimes his ideas are far from what she needs. Here's a conversation between the two of them.

"Lucy, you know I'm on your side, don't you?" "In what?" "Battling this depression." "I'm not depressed." I'm sad. That's all. Incredibly, deeply, and soul-woundingly sad.
"Sometimes ... when a woman reaches your age ..." She bit the side of her tongue. "Menopause? You think this is from menopause?" She'd check a mirror later for broken blood vessels in her eye.

I found myself chuckling and weeping throughout Song of Silence. It touched my soul. Cynthia Ruchti has a beautiful way of creating such emotions in each of her books. This one has depth, reality, and encouragement. Her characters discover truths that are worth underlining. I love it!

I hope you will read Song of Silence. I highly recommend it!

I received a copy of this book from the author as part of her release team and am giving my honest review. Thank you, Cynthia!
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A beautifully written, passionate, emotional story of grieving over the loss of one's long term career in music. Lucy's father had started the music program in the elementary school years ago and now it's ending. She's unable to make the beautiful sounds she once did...then that changes after meeting a little boy and his mother.

Cynthia knows how to draw the reader into the setting, the characters, and their situations. Love every book she's written, they're keepers. Usually once I finish a book I pass it on to a fellow reader but there are a special few I can't let go of and hers fit that category.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I have found that I have a harder time reviewing books that make the biggest impact. I feel inadequate to express the power and the beauty that an author has imbued in his/her work. Song of Silence by Cynthia Ruchti is one of those books. I loved this book, but more importantly, I connected with it. Characters, plot, themes — they all resonated with me. This is one that will stay with me a long time and is a highly recommended read.

Lucy Tuttle has been living her dream for 19 years — teaching music to children. But the dream abruptly comes to an end when she not only loses her job, but the school board shuts down all arts curriculum. Her summer stretches out in front of her without an end. Despite her husband’s sometimes clueless attempts to join him in retirement, Lucy slips deeper into her grief. A series of events lead her to a new understanding of God’s new song for her life.

Because I am struggling to find the right words to convey the essence of this book, I am just going to tell you why I loved it. Song of Silence has great characters — complex, believable, struggling with everyday issues that we can all relate to. I especially liked Lucy’s husband Charlie, referred to as Captain Oblivious in one instance. But before you think that there is some man-bashing in this book, let me say that he is one of the most caring, loving characters, even if he is not always the most observant. The themes are ones that we all deal with at some point in our lives — relationship dynamics, loss of dreams/purpose, disappointment and grief. God is present in the novel in the words of friends and trusted counselors, in the circumstances that almost overwhelm Lucy and in the silence in which she finds herself. Ruchti’s use of humor lightens the mood and brings real life into the pages.

Song of Silence is a great book, one that lingered in my mind long after I finished it. It spoke truth and it spoke hope. I loved it and think you will too.

Highly Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to Abingdon and LitFuse for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )

Title: Song of Silence
Author: Cynthia Ruchti
Pages: 320
Year: 2016
Publisher: Abingdon
My rating is 5+ stars.
This is a very moving tale that won’t soon be forgotten by this reviewer. This is a story about a woman who taught music only to lose her job 19 years later. Readers will journey with her as she deals with the emotional ramifications. The program she ran was originally started by her father and now she feels as though she has failed him because of the closing of the program.
What follows after the introduction to the character Lucy, who was a music teacher, will keep audiences’ hearts gripped till the very end of the book. I enjoyed the author’s portrayal of how Lucy and her husband Charlie each handle Lucy’s unemployment. For me, I thought it was accurate to portray the longing of a woman’s heart for understanding from her mate and the times that fail to occur. Poor Charlie kept attempting to try and restore the light in Lucy’s eyes and the passion in her heart, only to learn he couldn’t.
There are family dynamics that bring even more elements to the plot, along with interesting twists in the lives of some characters. I saw a very realistic reflection of how life at times can throw many curves at us sometimes one right after another before can regain our balance. Yet, through the story, we are reminded that while suffering is not pleasant or sought, deeper revelations of God plus what is a new season of life right around the corner were exceptional aspects of the novel.
I was enthralled from the moment I opened the book until I finished the last page. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if this work of fiction is shared with others via friends and family. I have a feeling many can relate to the situations crafted in the storyline. So grab a chair and get ready to be touched deeply by the latest novel from this author’s pen; it’s a magnificent piece!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” ( )