Ruybalid portrays the tortuous reality of living with societal constraints and makes a silent case for the power that each individual holds. In her novel, the woman with cerebral palsy displays more freedom and strength than the protagonist who winds her way to the dreadful, surprising conclusion.
This book speaks to the possibility that lives within each of us, and the responsibility that we have to meet our time on this earth with creativity and hope.
A Pattern of Silent Tears
A novel by Mariana Ruybalid
Mariana Ruybalid's story of friendship follows the lives of Magdalena, a divorced mother of three and Marta, an American missionary stricken with cerebral palsy. Following a personal calling to seek and serve neglected children with physical disabilities, Marta becomes friends with Magdalena, who helps her improve her Spanish. Both women face questions of belonging as Magdalena faces a second divorce, an uneasy attraction to a fellow parishioner, and a shattering aftermath to passion that provides no easy answers.
How deeply I feel for this passionate modern woman, caught in a traditional society! Dona Magdelena raises three children in luscious Coast Rica and wonders as she deals with an ill mother, a disabled friend, poverty, and an absent, abusive husband whether her religion supports her as well as it could. She's yearning for love, too, at the same time that she aspires to a viable spiritual life. Sound familiar? The honest, succinct writing is one reason this tale is so memorable, another is that as much as any writer in these times Mariana Ruybalid has been there.
--Clive Matson, author of Squish Boots and Let the Crazy Child Write!
Creative Arts Book Company: September 2003; ISBN 0-88739-517-1; Paperback Original; $13.95/Fiction
My novel, A Pattern of Silent Tears, is hot off the press. California residents pay 13.95 + 1.15 (CA tax) + 4.00 (S+H) = $19.10
All others pay 13.95 + 4.00 (S+H) = $17.95
Mariana Ruybalid (510) 883-1930
2951 Derby Street #249
Berkeley, CA 94705