Mama's Pearls

Mama’s Pearls is the sixth book in author Charlotte Johnson’s series of motivational text. This book is a very poignant chronicle of the faith, wit, and the down-home charm of Dr. Johnson’s mother, Evelyn Russell. Loyal fans of Dr. Johnson have already developed a feeling of closeness to her mother, affectionately called “Mother Russell.” Throughout Dr. Johnson’s books, her mother serves as a spiritual mentor teaching her about love and redemption through her selfless love. Mother Russell loves, when it seems that her daughter is beyond change and is unwilling to embrace her mother’s instructions.
Mother Russell is a paradox. She is both a spiritually mature student of the Bible, while maintaining her down home folksy charm, sharp tongue, and nostalgic stories of her youth that serve to entertain the reader. These stories offer inspiration, encouragement, hope, and motivation. More importantly, these oral traditions serve as method of handing down the wisdom of times past. A mother’s love can be essential to a child’s emotional well-being and character development.
Charlotte Johnson shares her mother with the world to offer hope and encouragement in troubled times. This book is excellent for those in need of hope, seeking a miracle, searching for a way to maintain their faith, or looking for an uplifting and humorous book.
Mother Russell grew up in a family where oral storytelling was a method of passing family wisdom and traditions to the younger generations. She passed these stories onto her children. These stories are a combination of Mother Russell’s life experiences and oral traditions passed from her father. My heart was touched when Dr. Johnson wrote earlier in her series, “Mama why do you still care?” Mama’s Pearls answers why a mother still cares when all hope is gone and the world has given up on her child.
As Dr. Johnson explores her family’s past in order to bring light and perspective to the present, Mama’s Pearls is reminiscent of Alex Haley’s Roots. Dr. Johnson’s story is the story of America that each generation learns and passes on. The collective knowledge of the family promotes growth in each subsequent generation. Although an apple doesn’t fall far from a tree, it is able to roll downhill away from the foundation. The essential seed from the tree remains in the core of the apple.
This book reminds us to train our children in the way that they should go, so that when they are older, the knowledge will not depart from them, as they choose their own way in the world. Mama’s Pearls is excellent for every mother, child, friend, individual suffering or in need of encouragement, those who have opened their heart to be a support and resource for others, and those who realize that laughter heals us as a medicine.