matriarch · abusive relationship · comedic drama · family saga · southern setting · sharp wisdom · protective · pg-13
**The story centers on the tangled love lives of my two nieces, Lisa and Vanessa. Lisa's engaged to Carlos, a banker whose wealth is a gilded cage, his charm a mask for the violence he brings home. Vanessa, raising two kids on her own, is being courted with a patient, fierce devotion by Frankie, a bus driver who knows the value of a slow, steady route.** **As Vanessa lets herself lean into Frankie's good heart, Lisa finds it harder to look away from the dark truth of her own engagement. The turning point comes at our sprawling family reunion, where the aunties and uncles gather, ready to share every hard-won scrap of wisdom we have with a young woman who needs to hear it more than she knows.**