Actress Melissa Gilbert will forever be identified with her portrayal of Laura Ingalls Wilder in the cherished television series Little House on the Prairie.  The show ended after nine seasons, and Gilbert went on to pursue other acting roles and pen books about her experiences both in front of and behind the cameras.  She has been unflinchingly candid in her writings about her work, celebrity, failed marriages, and being a single parent.  She is no less so in her latest book Back to the Prairie: A Home Remade, A Life Rediscovered. 

In Back to the Prairie, readers are introduced to a woman who at one time fought to stay relevant in an industry famous for discarding actresses of a certain age.  Gilbert shares the lengths she went to make sure turning fifty wouldn’t be so noticeable and the inappropriate relationship she entered to prove she was still as desirable as the thirty somethings.  None of the that made her happy.  She reexamined her priorities, made some important adjustments, and eventually met the man who would change her life. 

In 2013, Gilbert married Emmy award winning actor Timothy Busfield and the pair moved far away from Hollywood to a home located among the lush landscape of rural Michigan.  Back to the Prairie is the story of Gilbert’s journey to find contentment out of the limelight with the man of her dreams, her grandchildren, and farm animals.  Her motivating tale is honest and endearing.