A near-death experience in a car with her Mother; running from tear gas at a Vietnam War rally hand-in-hand with her Pop; a year in India learning side-by-side the country's 'untouchables;' the highs and lows of living on a rural Pennsylvania commune…and all before Fiona Sprechelbach's thirteenth birthday. Set during one of the most politically divisive eras in American history, Thread for Pearls is a coming of age tale that takes us on a young heroine's journey to faith and freedom amidst a turbulent family dynamic. It's a story of resilient hope that questions whether it's the events of our lives that define us, or the thread on which we choose to string them.

A near-death experience in a car with her Mother; running from tear gas at a Vietnam War rally hand-in-hand with her Pop; a year in India learning side-by-side the country's 'untouchables;' the highs and lows of living on a rural Pennsylvania commune…and all before Fiona Sprechelbach's thirteenth birthday. Set during one of the most politically divisive eras in American history, Thread for Pearls is a coming of age tale that takes us on a young heroine's journey to faith and freedom amidst a turbulent family dynamic. It's a story of resilient hope that questions whether it's the events of our lives that define us, or the thread on which we choose to string them.

Master storyteller Lauren Speeth has shared her stories in film and print over the years with audiences around the world, to critical acclaim. Her storytelling interests run the gamut, from books about the American experience to 3-D films about Irish spirituality, to music about love and life. In this, her first novel, she shares what she has come to understand as the fundamental human experience of resiliency and hope. When not dreaming up stories, Speeth leads Elfenworks Productions, LLC, a pro-social business with internationally acclaimed media content, and The Elfenworks Foundation, where she has assembled a team of social entrepreneurs of the highest caliber that work together daily on projects that foster the greater good.