DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

Drama

Co-authors of bestselling book series DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF, Kristine Carlson and her husband, Dr. Richard Carlson, share an amazing life with their two teenage daughters in Marin County. When Richard, a healthy man of 45, unexpectedly dies in one horrific instant, Kristine’s life is thrust into chaos.

Kris Carlson is happy to be the invisible wife and helpmate of New York Times bestselling author, Richard Carlson. Richard’s “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff” book series has made him one of the world’s foremost Happiness Gurus alongside Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra.

But on December 13th, 2006, when Richard unexpectedly dies of an embolism on a flight descent into New York, Kris suddenly finds herself thrust into devastating grief, single-parenthood and pressure to become the visible face and voice of Richard’s brand.

Kris faces many obstacles on her journey from grief-stricken, self-doubting widow to self-confident baton-carrier of the Don’t Sweat empire; uncertainty about her single-parenting when her youngest, Kenna, is tortured by mean girls and her eldest, Jazzy, gives up UC Berkeley for a boy and an unexpected pregnancy;

Kris’s attraction to another man, which infuriates her daughters; and finally, her own demons -- a paralytic fear of writing and public speaking.

It takes a dangerous mudslide under the very foundation of Kris’s world, her Marin County home, to create a turning point. After shoring up the hill with over fifty sandbags all by herself, Kris realizes she’s more than strong enough to carry Richard’s work forward.

She heals the relationship with her daughters, welcomes a grandchild who has Richard’s eyes, writes four books of her own and works with widows’ groups, teaching them how to turn their tragedies into triumphs.

Ken Carpenter, p.g.a.

Shannon Bradley-Colleary

Ellen S. Pressman

Heather Locklear (Melrose Place)
Natasha Bure
Jason MacDonald