“We all need to do things that take us out of ourselves.” (p. 364) whether it is embroidery, fly fishing, or bell ringing, the activities we do offer purpose and focus, especially in difficult times. This novel is set in England in the 1930s and the thread that binds characters is sometimes physical, such as yarn to embroider with or ropes in a bell tower, and sometimes spiritual as between friends and lovers. The losses of The Great War are keenly felt by the parents, sisters, and girlfriends of boys who died. How they build new lives through service, activities, employment, and especially relationships create the threads that embroider a new life and society.