Mary always had a big idea of herself. Ambitious. Inspired by great causes. But she's arrived at a certain age wondering why she's accumulated so many stories about breaking away--the grand exit: "I'm outta here!" Mary digs into her history: sometimes she is paralyzed by dangling indecision, sometimes she is marching off into the crazy unknown. Sometimes she is bold and sometimes, timid and ridiculous.Then other voices demand to be heard. These are the voices of her foremothers. They have stories too. And their stories, it turns out, are Mary's power.Women with moxie know how to turn discontent into action. Tribe of the Breakaway Beads is an illustrated novella and memoir. It tells the story of imagined characters in an historical world, except where it tells the story of historical characters in an imagined world. It features cameo appearances by the author's ancestors as a tribute to their ongoing, powerful influence. The small volume makes an inspired gift for sisters, daughters, and girlfriends.