When Sharrie married Gene Dorney in 1973, the handsome young attorney had the approval of the three people whose opinions mattered most:

 Evelyn, Bill, and Tom Lyle. On paper, Gene seemed the perfect choice—a promising lawyer with a bright future—and everyone expected the young couple to step effortlessly into a charmed and prosperous life.

Sharrie certainly believed they would.

She imagined a future of perpetual entertaining in an impeccably decorated home, elegant dinner parties, and a closet filled with designer clothes purchased from her father’s fashionable dress store at Newport Beach’s glamorous Fashion Island. After growing up in the extraordinary world surrounding Maybelline, this seemed like the natural next chapter.

She would be the beautiful young wife of a successful attorney, presiding over her home with style and confidence while gradually assuming the role she had been raised almost to expect—that of the young “Maybelline Queen” in waiting.

In 1973, it looked as though every piece of the picture had fallen perfectly into place.

But perfect pictures have a way of hiding what is happening just outside the frame.