Helly Jo's Mirror is a story about courage. Not the larger-than-life heroic type of courage, but the continued kind of courage required to keep putting one foot in front of the other when life repeatedly slaps you down. It is about the take-a-deep-breath-and-do-it-again kind of courage Keep-on-moving-when-all-you-want-to-do-is-give-up-and-forget-it kind of courage Everyday courage Helen, aka Helly Jo, and her five friends, together affectionately known as the Six Pack, all deal with life differently. Helen is a 64-year-old British-American with only a slight accent, who is struggling to deal with absentee children and grandchildren. She is riddled with guilt at the loss of her son, hung up on the problems of growing up in an extremely dysfunctional family, and seeing her brother commit suicide. It takes a lot of courage to cope with her own life, but her problems are also wrapped up in the problems of her friends' lives. Tessa, who is close to Helly Jo's children's ages, blusters her way through life with a vivacious take charge attitude that masks deep pain at being childless and hides a sensitivity no one sees - not even her husband. Sandy is the quintessential 20-something southern belle giving birth to her first child as she watches her father die and longs for her husband's return. Angie shares Sandy's youth, but is sexy with perky DDs and an attitude to match, but caring for a failing grandmother dampens even her spirits. While Josie is also young, her outlook is anything but youthful. Depressive and afraid to shine lest any man pay her attention, she has to deal with a mother who is totally her opposite. Her worst nightmare is realized when one of the Six Pack innocently brings in the ghost from her past that made her afraid of men. When she strikes out in physical anger she awakens an even bigger monster. Bainie, at an age between Tessa and the 20-somethings, is negative and argumentative, but the secrets that these traits hide bring everyone to their knees when Bainie bails. Did Bainie not have everyday courage? Or was her last act one of courage in itself? When Helly Jo looks into the mirror of her life and sees the scenes she would rather have forgotten, she is forced to face the issues of her past and deal with them. Like the rest of the Six Pack, she does not come through unscathed. Not everyone is so lucky, but Helly Jo's courage helps her find a stronger person on the other side of the mirror.