This Is Now

A heartfelt journey of a woman who returns to the childhood home she's avoided to care for her dying mother and hopefully heals herself in the process… Workaholic, control-freak Margarita is competent, intelligent, and extremely independent. A third year medical student, she is completely focused on becoming a doctor. But when her sister calls with news their mother's cancer diagnosis is terminal, Margarita returns home to small-town California, yet dreads facing the dysfunctional family she left behind. Craving peace and security, Margarita always felt like she didn't belong in a such a large, loud, drama-filled family. And when her mother and father's marriage fell apart, Margarita realized she never wanted to feel that kind of pain again and has avoided getting close to anyone since, worried she had no idea how to truly show love or make a relationship last. Unable to escape her feelings of inadequacy, she's become self-destructive working and drinking too much. Yet there's one man who, years ago, broke through the protective wall around her heart, one man whose steady friendship never wavered, even when she didn't deserve it. Now facing him and their unresolved feelings is possibly most terrifying part of going home. If Margarita has any hope of healing, she must learn to accept the past and start loving herself again. If she can't, she could lose everything, her career, her mother, and the only man she's ever loved.