title: Sins of the Mothers
author: Eastman, Sandra Joy
description: The Rubies Family Saga reveals the common Biblical truth that the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children. If we could find a life filled with only happiness, we would have utopia. As a life filled with love is also filled with equal pain, we must separate the good from the bad and bear the sorrow along with the joy, thus accepting life for what it is. This accomplishment is a goal of all mankind. Rubies - Book Three in the Rubies Family Saga - Sins of the Mothers Can we ever change the sins of the past or do we fall prey to their web of deceit and tragedy? Even though we are often determined to make a better life for our children, our good intentions cause the torrent of sins which become insurmountable. In Book Two, The Widening Road, Marty was determined to give her children a better life but instead she pushed both her daughter into marriages that would destroy both their lives and their sanity. Katherine was determined to marry for money but in the end, as her husband lays dying, she realizes she has fallen deeply in love with him and has never told him. The loss of his life becomes the catalyst for the destruction of her family. She cannot forgive herself for what she has done and soon finds her absolution in the bottle. She has become a hopeless alcoholic. Her two sons become adults, growing up in a loveless home, their only comfort being the grandmother who Katherine blames for the death of her husband. Jeffrey reaches out to his mother and does his best to form a bond with her. Tim, on the other hand, resents his childhood and turns his back on his alcoholic mother. Stacey, marries for love but finds in her husband the same abuse she suffered as a child. This realization comes close to destroying her sanity before she finally decides to make a new life for herself and her daughter. As Stacey and Katherine begin their lives as single mothers, fearful of repeating the mistakes of the previous generation, they struggle to change the outcome of the curse that has been inflicted upon them. As they face the death of the man that destroyed their family, the two sisters struggle to reconcile their feelings that flow between remove, regret, and vengeance. Stacey can forgive her father, but Katherine refuses. When Stacey sees in her daughter, Vicki, some of the same character traits of her father, she realizes Vicki’s future is also in jeopardy. She becomes so caught up in her own life, she ignores her sister’s downward spiral and deteriorating health. When her world crumbles beneath her feet, Stacey seeks the aid of a renowned psychiatrist, Gregg Phillips, and together they journey back in time to discover the root of Stacey’s emotional problems and why she has such a hatred for her ex-husband. You’ll find yourself sympathetic to the plight of our heroines but also annoyed at their own inconsistencies as the Rubies curse continues to choke life from the good and leave behind the shadow of uncertainty.