Beaming Sonny Home is a poignant tale of disappointment and a mother's love that stands as a testament to Pelletier's gift for storytelling. Fortune hasn't been kind to 66-year-old Mattie Gifford. Her mother committed suicide, her husband slept with her best friend, and she can't stand her three selfish daughters. But she does love her son, Sonny, who nevertheless plunges her into deep despair when he takes two women and a poodle hostage in his ex-wife's trailer.