'The Braiding of Diverse Lives' is a moving story that follows two very special girls. Mitsy is the daughter of a busy preacher and a distant mother. Angel is the daughter of lovers who are drug addicts.

At the story's outset, Luke looks on as the culmination of Mitsy's lifelong dream, her refuge for homeless, abused, and orphaned children, goes up in flames. Luke recalls his relationship with Mitsy and these streets during his adolescence.

Now, Mitsy is gravely injured when she rushes back inside the burning building to save her beloved dog, Blackie. As she lies in a hospital bed in a medically induced coma, her future uncertain, her current boyfriend, Andy, revisits her past.

Luke convinces his lover, Mary, to smuggle drugs into the U.K., but she is caught and sent to prison. While detained, Mary realizes she is pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl, whom she names Angel. After spending just a few months with her mother, infant Angel is whisked away by Luke to live with him and his new girlfriend, Sophia, who runs a hair and fashion studio.

As she grows older, Angel discovers that living with Luke and Sophia has its own problems; she is frequently caught in the crossfire of their contentious relationship. Luke, ultimately, abandons them. Sophia is a negligent caretaker, perhaps because the child is not her own, so six-year-old Angel runs away. Filthy, hungry, and alone, Angel escapes the city and is found in the farm fields of a kindly couple who take her to Mitsy's nearby orphaned children's home.

The different characters in the story demonstrate the coincidences and synchronicity of the universe that are a part of our everyday lives we often fail to see. Everywhere Mitsy and Angel go, they touch those who meet them, and somehow, all the characters seem inextricably linked to each other.

This compelling story illustrates the determination and strength of character needed for both Mitsy and Angel to overcome their early childhood traumas and grow into women who thrive against all odds.

The Braiding of Diverse Lives - pokkari, Englanti, 2017