A Friendship-Changing Decision
A popular book creates a real-life melodrama when Rachael challenges a New York-based book club to read The Necklace and repeat its true story by giving the women $500 each to be used toward one $5,000 item to share. In the book the women pool their money for a diamond necklace, but the moms in this challenge decide to consider other options. After 10 years of friendship, they quickly find themselves at each others' throats as they shout suggestions as varied as a Buddha statue, a puppy, a Vespa and a necklace. "I was really surprised by the level of the heatedness," Kyung says. "We were given a gift and it could just be fun ... I think somehow the object got laden with a lot of baggage because it somehow had to represent who we are."
After hours of deliberating and much disagreement, they return to the book for inspiration and decide to spend the $5,000 on a gold charm necklace. "These different charms represent all of our unique and aesthetic sensibilities, since we had to come together to create one object," says Jonna, as she takes her turn wearing the jewelry. "It's tribal, it's like this is my tribe!"


