I discovered "The Lesson" in a candle store at the mall a couple of years ago. I gave the book as a gift to my husband and he loved it so much that we purchased ten more copies for friends. We continue to purchase copies as gifts and the recipients are always deeply touched by this wonderful short story of Robert who learns the greatest life lesson of all: How much did you love? I am an avid reader and an author - this is one of my favorite books!

The Lesson is a wonderful book for readers young and old. We follow Robert from his first day in school in Kindergarten to throughout his entire life! Robert beams with pride when the teacher first gives him a problem to solve and he solves it correctly. Yet as Robert matures, the problems keep coming, some easy and some not so easy. Some he can't wait to solve, while others he would prefer for them to go away so that he does not have to solve them. We all have had problems like that!!

Robert perseveres and continues to solve the problems that come his way and discovers that problems still need to be solved when formal school is over and the school of life takes over full time. Robert loved learning and thus he loved solving the problems that his teacher and life gave to him. Robert learns that problems cannot be ignored, as they just create bigger and more problems! Robert also learned that only he could solve his problems, and that no one else could do it for him. His family and friends supported and encouraged him and had patience with him when he would encounter a particularly "tough" problem.

As Robert matures and weathers time, he finally realizes that ALL of the lessons that he had been learning and all of the problems that he had been solving all had a common theme interwoven into them, and that life was teaching him the greatest lesson of all - how to love. Decisions based in love and not in anger or hatred are the correct decisions for Robert to make.

This book will delight all who read it and it would be a most wonderful book to incorporate into a school curriculum. This fable is short and wonderfully portrayed, and the drawings of Kathleen Peterson lend a charming quality to the book.

Highly recommended!!!

This is a sometimes joyful, sometimes sorrowful, but always hopeful tale of the most important lesson we can teach our children in life. Carol Lynn Pearson tells the tale of Robert, a little boy we meet on his first day of school. He is joyful as he solves his very first problem: One plus one equals what? As the years go by, the problems get bigger, but Robert manages to solve them and move on. The problems are no longer as much fun, but still must be solved. Sometimes Robert wants to run away from the problem and sometimes the problem makes him cry. Many times he longs for the simple problems like he had on the first day of school.

The reader spends a lifetime with Robert and sees him learn the greatest lesson of all when he realizes all his life there had only been one problem---How much do you love and who will remember you after you are gone?

A warm, feel-good book for children as well as adults, this beautifully illustrated fable is a quick, satisfying read with a lesson to last a lifetime.

My mother has always loved books by Carol Lynn Pearson; I think one reason is that she named her daughters Lynne & Carol (and we used to be Pearsons)! By far, this is my favorite Pearson book. Recommended by an Amazon friend, I bought this book for my mother who has always lived thousands of miles from me. As luck would have it, my daughter was visiting me when I started reading this lovely little story. From the very beginning, I knew this book was written about us. The tears started flowing on the first page and didn't stop until the last page of this poignantly written "Fable For Our Times." WILL YOU STILL BE MY DAUGHTER? is actually a parable about an acorn that falls from a beautiful, strong oak. The oak loves her daughter and wants to protect her from pain and disappointment. However, as in real life, we can only hope that our children will have the strength (roots) to persevere.
There is a special bond between a mother and her daughter and this book celebrates that bond. You must read this beautiful keepsake with your daughter, especially if she is going through a difficult time. I now need to buy another copy of this book for my mother. I loved this touching tale and recommend it to all mothers. Put it somewhere handy so it can be read over and over!

I bought this book for my mom while on my first vacation away from her in California. I was 18 years old and for quite sometime had been struggling with her issues of letting go. Because of this book I finally understood that she was also struggling with having to let go and I learned to be a little more patient. I think she too realized that although she couldn't always protect me, I would still be her daughter.

If you have a daughter, particularly one who is on the brink of womanhood and preparing to leave or has already left the nest, this is the perfect book to give her. In other words, if you have a daughter 18 or over, give her this book immediately. You may even want to read it with her, but be warned that you will both shed a joyful tear or two. This short, picture-book for adults tells the story of a mother and child and the lessons they learn. Sadly, even a mother's love cannot protect a child against all life's hardships, but the irrevocable truth still stands: there is no greater love than that of a mother for a daughter and the nurturing love that melds into true friendship as years go by is a shared gift. Treasure this little book as you read it for a few minutes with your own daughter, and hold its message in your heart forever.

During and after reading this book, I noticed I also had syncronicities in my life I hadn't been paying attention too. If I had been following my intuition and syncronicities, I could have saved myself no small bit of emotional pain. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a path to follow which is not very often tread upon.

Carol Lynn Pearson has a magnificent way of touching the heart with simple stories that have profound meaning. I cried and laughed my way through this book. With stories from her own life, Pearson gives me a new perspective on my own. Wally's Tie, or The Tie That Binds, prompted a similar episode with her book. What goes around...

Reading Carol Lynn Pearson is never a mistake. I highly recommend this book.

Consider The Butterfly is a wonderful, inspirational work of art. Beautifully written by Carol Lynn Pearson and illustrated with Sandy Wells' lovely photographs, this is a must-have book!! I highly recommend it!

Our heroine (Alison) is a single mother of two teenaged kids; she could be anyone; even next door to YOU! She's frazzled and doing her best, but it just never seems to be enough. Her neighbor is the ultimate Mother in Alison's eyes. Just before Mother's Day, she hears her kids discussing something and (justly) feels unloved and ignored. She's runs away from home on Mother's Day weekend. Her flight is humorous and just a little scary, but it proved that love does surround her and she's pretty GREAT after all! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be sending one to MY Mother, with THANKS!

As a mother of two I completely understand where Alison is coming from. I've wished to run away at times too. This is a light, cheery, truthful story. Can easily be read in one sitting but the feeling behind it stays for a long time. Go on and call your Mom and say "I love you". Been there, done that....is there a T-Shirt? I highly recommend this book.

This is simply an outstanding collection of poetry on the feelings of love a mother feels for her child - whether that relationship is biological or adopted and ranging in age from a child in utero to a teenage child. It manages to accurately describe situations and emotions without the sappy "greeting card" prose you find all too often in poetry on motherhood and it also avoids the cynical, sarcastic and often caustic interpretations of motherhood found so frequently in modern literature. I highly recommend this book for new mothers and experienced mothers alike!

I loved this book so much that I sent my mom a copy too. I've asked the questions from this book to both of my grandmothers (through the mail) and it inspired some really great conversations. It was written by a mother-daughter team who really wanted to know more about each other and the questions they came up with to ask each other are things I wanted to know too. I would totally recommend to people who want a closer relationship with their moms or aunts or grandmothers to get a copy of this book.

The title of this book caught my attention. The first person I ever really liked, i couldn't stop smiling when i was around him. These love poems give men a glance of what love a woman has for her husband. The true devotion, admiration, and the simplicity of love shines forth on every page. I can only read several poems at a time, other wise i am disabled for the rest of the day. One poem that is particularly my favorite, is "Eyes" on page fifty. One day I was lying on my bed, and the Lord gently spoke page 50 into my heart, so I turned to the poem, and read it. It really has begun to open my eyes to the Love He has for us, and that He longs for us to gaze in His eyes.. Jesus wants us to know that He created love and wants us to "Trust the traffic- And so enjoy the pleasure Of the air."

carol lynn pearson is a lyrical genius... her words move the reader into a space of feeling and deep intuitive knowing. as your life and issues change you'll re-read her work and find comfort and wisdom you didn't see from the first dozen readings. carol lynn's work has inspired my life for over twenty years... what a blessing she is.

This is the first book I came across that truly captured what it is like to be gay and married and it was written by the straight spouse. Of course, that was years ago and now I have come out of the closet and have found my voice and know what is in my heart. But back then I was deep in the closet and this book was a godsend. Thank you, Carol Lynn, from the bottom of my heart. It was wonderful to see in words what before I had only felt and not understood. However, I wished I had read your thoughts and feelings about being a straight spouse more carefully. It would have given me so much insight into what was going on with my wife. It took me years to gain that insight on my own. But back then it was all I could do to handle my own pain.

I first encountered "Goodbye, I Love You" when it was originally published. I was a married Mormon, and had trouble understanding how things could have happened the way she told them. Then, I found out my husband was gay, too. I re-read the book, and realized that she had told my story, only more compassionately than I could have. This book tells the other side of the story, the side of those whose lives are turned upside down by married gays who can no longer live a lie. If your life has been touched by this situation, this book will help you see that you are not alone. It is must reading for anyone who has known or been a married gay.

This is not a happy book, but a courageous attempt by the author to express her feelings of frustration, grief, anger, and finally acceptance. I would like to see other reviews of this book by a wife, husband, mother, father, sister, brother, or other relative of a gay person. I certainly felt her anguish as she struggled to understand what was happening. She told her story well.

After reading this book, I shared it with a friend who isn't a reader. She loved it! One of the copies I'm ordering today is for this friend to place in her church library and one copy is for my church library. It is an inspiring book for anytime of the year, but especially at Christmas.

I love this book. It only takes an hour to read and it brings into perspective what is really important. If we, in our every day life, listen to the Spirit, (Jesus voice), as Annabelle did, and carry out what we have heard, miracles will happen. It is now a family tradition and each Christmas time we read it and you cannot keep your eyes dry! I shared the story in a Church Meeting and I saw a lot of people wiping tears away. It moves the soul. A must for holiday reading.

The Modern Magi, A Christmas Fable, is a most wonderful, delightful little book, on living the true meaning of Christmas, the whole year through. Carol Lynn Pearson brings home this meaning poignantly, simply, and beautifully through the character of Annabelle Perkins. Annabelle will touch your heart and maybe even spur you on, to perform your own selfless Christmas miracle. Even though the ending was predictable early on, this, in no way whatsoever, detracted from the beauty of the fable.

God talks to us constantly, yet one just has to be still and listen, have faith and follow what that inner voice is guiding us to do. Annabelle heard God speaking to her and she followed her heart and performed miracles for others while on earth. Was she an angel or a messenger or both? Only you the reader can decide that.

Annabelle's good will was able to live on long after Annabelle left earth and that is what the message of the book was portraying.

This little fable will warm you, bring tears to your eyes and remind you once again, that God does indeed work in mysterious ways though many people who touch our lives.

A wonderful book to share with the entire family!!! I loved it!!