Candi Byrne is a gregarious introvert, nomadic homebody, and pragmatic woowooist. She lives in an enchanted forest on the south side of North Mountain in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Her cozy, colorful cottage contains a bounty of art supplies for the “Magic on the Mountain” creative retreats she facilitates, as well as the “Let’s Get Messy” sleepovers she has regularly with her two granddaughters, who live over the creek and through the woods. She lives in Martinsburg, WV.

Candi Byrne’s biological mother gave her up in a closed adoption as a baby, and in all the decades since, Candi has struggled to fit in―to belong―to her adoptive “frankenfamily.” When the birth of her first grandchild ignites the need for her to identify potential genetic time bombs and confirm her ancestry, she attempts to locate that information―but due to arcane privacy laws, she is denied access to the one person who could provide that information: her birth mother. Frustrated and dismayed, Candi ends the pursuit there, resigned to never learning the truth.

That is, until her ninety-year-old aunt Delores tells Candi she’s had a vision―Candi must never give up pursuing her birth family. Honoring the guidance, Candi resumes looking online and is gobsmacked when a search reveals her birth mother’s name and address. A series of guilt-driven interactions with “Those People,” as she refers to her maternal birth family, ensues―a disastrous reunion―after which Candi terminates contact. But the experience opens her eyes to the gifts she received from her adoptive mother, Delphine, during her lifetime. Though their relationship was difficult and contentious while Delphine was alive, Candi comes to rely on her mother’s wisdom and counsel from beyond. Ultimately, Delphine guides Candi home to herself, where she has belonged all along.