Now, more than ever, we need a reminder the American Dream is still a reality. From Hand-Me-Downs to Designer Gowns is not another rags-to-riches tale. Nor does it pick up where the first memoir, Black Raspberries, left off. Only in her mid-seventies did Ms. Malarsky wake up one morning and realize, "I had another compelling story to tell: I'd started with nothing, and with the help of my husband, I'd created a successful, full, and happy life. In addition to raising my children, building a business, and enduring a murder trial, I'd learned about balanced funds. My personal investment experience was worth sharing." Set in New England over the past two decades, the story shares quotidian life while owning a small business, transports your half-way around the world during trips to Europe and the Far East, walks you through a trial from before the shooting until the sentencing, and provides an amazing but true documentation of tripling their retirement portfolio while making minimum required withdrawals.