A pearl oyster, invaded by an irritant it can't expel, turns adversity into a glowing iridescent work of nature's art. This shining treasure you now hold in your hands celebrates the similar path shared by women. In Path of the Pearl, Mary Olsen Kelly invites us to assess our own life's journey using the same six criteria used by jewelers for grading pearls - shape, size, color, luster, orient, and perfection. Her reflections and insights offer a new way of recognizing and embracing our whole self, complete with imperfections, and rejoicing in the hard-earned treasures obtained by overcoming adversity.

The Pearl allows you to put your contemplation of the Golden Path into practice. What use is knowledge if it doesn't step off the page into your life? In life there are wild pearls and there are farmed pearls. The difference between the two is the same difference between you being given knowledge by another and you finding it out for yourself. You have to be the pearl diver and use your imagination to work out how this wisdom can best be applied in your life. The Pearl is only for those who are willing to risk their lives for something greater