THE THREE GRACES OF PEARL STREET by Elizabeth Wellington Rollins

5 stars

This heart-warming, completely immersive novel centers on the lives of three women of the Velentini family- all named variants of Grace and all seeking to bring grace into their own lives.

Graziella, the grandmother, embodies all the qualities of a headstrong Italian Nonna. She seeks to control the lives of both her daughter, Grace, who’s a successful Upper West Side NYC psychologist and head of the psychology department at Columba, as well as her granddaughter Ella, who’s an MIT drop out working to sort donations at the non-profit in Times Square. All three women are at loggerheads with one another- with simmering resentments and deeply unresolved emotions- until circumstances lead them to all return to live together in Graziella’s home.

Graziella at 98 years old is a fierce stalwart and protector of her community for whom she does untold acts of generosity. I had to laugh out loud at some of her antics- such as being an exceptional cook but refusing to teach her daughter Grace a single dish. To figure out her recipes, Ella has her place multiple handfuls of flour and pinches of ingredients into plastic baggies to figure out the measurements for her recipes. Graziella is deeply Catholic but in an all out war with the Cardinal who she considers both greedy and corrupt. Her battles with him are epic, and you can guess who wins them all.

Grace finds herself in the midst of a divorce from her selfish husband Bill, who’s been working for years in Bermuda and reverse commuting to New York, and he’s announced he’s found true love. Turns out that love is a wealthy 80-something as revealed in a Facetime call! Ella celebrates Bill’s good riddance as a bad Dad, and Grace needs to figure how to reconfigure her life. As her broken washing machine flood her house, she moves into the mayhem of her Mom’s house and bossiness.

Ella, a brilliant nuclear scientist in the making, has relegated herself to menial labor out of guilt of an act of sabotage she did right before her MIT graduation. But as she reconnects with her childhood neighborhood, develops awe at what Graziella is really up to, and finds true romance, she changes her life to truly move forward into her potential.

The book has stayed with me days after finishing it, with the warm glow of a rare book that floods you with joy, and I’ve been recommending it as a must-read to all my friends!

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.