Gloria Newsommer runs her family the way she ran her kindergarten class - or at least she imagines she does. She has firm ideas on what's best - from handling the stoned teens inside the camel costume at Christmas Eve Mass to what her daughter should wear to work as an elementary school guidance counselor. Gloria lives in secret fear of life being out of control. Then her husband has a heart attack while driving and suffers serious injuries in the subsequent accident, and Gloria's world becomes more and more disorderly. Her adult children and husband are suddenly impossible to manage, one of her closest friends seems to be having a midlife crisis, and even the grandchildren are changing. Having lost control, Gloria must sort out how to stop letting fear control her, and how to enjoy, rather than merely try to manage, the events of her life.
