Marianne is only 8 when her mother goes missing. As she grows older, Marianne is trapped in the immense loss that leads her down a path of self-destruction until the discovery of a medieval poem called Pearl. Can art heal her?

Out of all three, PEARL is my favorite. Hughes beautifully captures the loneliness of coming of age and the ache of grief with gorgeous prose and lyrical writing. I especially adore the exploration of "unmothering" & motherhood, the tremendous weight of becoming a mother, and the examination of postpartum depression. Through Marianne's innocent narrative, Hughes asks the readers, How do you move on when you're severed from your mother?