Brief

When her husband dies suddenly, Pam finds herself both a widow and a single mother to a rebellious
teenager. She must save the family business, a DIY empire, while trying to repair her relationship with
her troubled daughter, all while moving through her own grief.

What We Liked

- This story represents a journey of self-discovery, and proves that anyone can find a new path,
even later in life;
- Relatable, inspiring, and hopeful for a wide range of female audiences - women would tell
their friends, mothers, and daughters to go see the movie;
- The broken and repaired relationship between Pam and her daughter;
- Pam's struggle to figure out who she is without her husband;
- It taps into the success of HGTV-style shows.

Synopsis

While Pam is out shopping for their latest client, her husband, Nate, falls to his death while working on
their own house. Pam returns home to find him, and she must break the news not only to her teenage
daughter, Grace, but also her and Nate’s adoring fans. The couple ran a successful DIY lifestyle brand
called Designer You, wherein Nate restores old homes, and Pam writes books and blog posts sharing
their work. Now, without Nate’s artistic genius, Pam is saddled with all of their unfinished projects, and
very little idea of where to even start. Pam takes on as much of the work as she can, learning as she
goes. However, she’s putting off the next book she’s under contract to write, and she barely sees
Grace at all.
Grace begins to act out, rebellious in her grief. She skips school and even gets in a physical fight, and
she’s nearly expelled. Pam writes the private school a sizable check to keep Grace in, and goes back
to focusing on work. Though she’s completely wrapped up in Designer You, she’s struggling to stay
afloat. She and Grace grow more and more distant, and Pam falls behind on nearly every aspect of the
brand. Pam toys with the idea of dating, but she’s reluctant so soon after Nate’s passing. Meanwhile,
Grace feels out of place at her college prep school. PSATs are coming fast, and Grace is lost. On
Thanksgiving, Pam learns from her literary agent that her book deal has been cancelled thanks to her
lack of progress. Writing was the last thing she felt confident of, and now that’s been taken from her.
Completely at odds and overwhelmed, Pam questions her career path. She’s failing to keep up with
Designer You, but she feels pressure to keep Nate’s dream alive.
She decides to make Grace her newfound focus and quits all things Designer You, contracting out any
remaining projects and effectively dismantling the company. Grace is still distraught and angry, every
ounce the grieving teenager, but she agrees to spend a month in Florida with Pam. Every evening they
sit down to eat at 6pm, and they begin forging a relationship again. When they return to Philadelphia,
Pam agrees to stage a friend’s house when she lists it. The house sells immediately, and the real
estate agent is so impressed with Pam’s staging that she offers her more work doing the same thing.
Though Pam is unsure, she feels a passion for this that she hasn’t felt since Nate’s death. She opens
her own business in staging houses for sale, and she begins attending every function at Grace’s new
school. A year after Nate’s death, Pam finally feels ready to try dating again, and to be the stable
parent her daughter deserves.

About The Author

Sarahlyn Bruck writes contemporary women's fiction and lives in Philadelphia with her husband and daughter. She teaches writing and literature as an associate professor at a local community college, and she also coaches developing writers on their own books.