Ten Circles Upon the Pond: Reflections of a Prodigal Mother

A beautifully written collection of essays for anyone who’s ever lived in that unwieldy
group called family-a story that takes us from Iowa to the high country of Wyoming and Montana as a woman and her husband search for the perfect place to raise their five daughters and five sons.

Rooted
in real-life experience, this unique essay collection of passion, intimacy, work, religion, puberty, love and loss, and the struggle to be steadfast in times of enormous social change reads
like a novel-full of lively characters, spirited dialogue, and a landscape that takes
you from Iowa to the high country of Wyoming and Montana. As the chapters unfold,
one focused on each child, Virginia Tranel and her husband search for the ideal place
to raise the five daughters and five sons born to them between 1957 and 1978.

Tranel
artfully weaves daily moments with world events as she reflects on how our culture
affects our decisions. She offers candid observations on everything from her reproductive
choices and feminism’s influence on her thinking to sibling rivalries and her family’s
emotional response when an architect son emails firsthand reports of the horrors
of September 11. Whether considering the issues intrinsic to marriage and child-raising,
or questioning her own common sense, her insights are always provocative and deeply
moving.