A starter marriage hadn't been the first act Mary Ellen Black had meant to script for herself, but bowing out provided hard-won perspective: The most important things in life were not things at all, but the people she held dear. In her case, the lovable eccentrics she called family, the ones who were more than ready to support her leading role—if only she'd step into the spotlight. So now Mary Ellen's drafted act two—her return home—and she's pretty sure she's ready for the performance of Her Life, starring a strong, single mother of two.

She's all dressed up and ready to take on the world…and take back the woman she was meant to be.