The Clouded Lens

A story of the blemished lives of two women. One, Clare, is labeled and designated a pariah in her middle years thrusting her into wretched poverty and dire hopelessness. The other, Ruth, scratches and claws her way up the ladder in an attempt to shatter the glass ceiling, only to let the gold rung on the carrousel of life slip out of her hands forever. Both victims: both survivors. At times each considers the other a nemesis, but in the end, as the old guard's acceptance of the neophyte settles in, Clare finds Ruth, not exactly a friend, but a worthy, though tragic, human being. How these two figures end up their life journeys leading to release for one and confinement for the other and the mistake that started it all is the essence of this novel.