Mary Grace Musuneggi, who in 1976 was a newly widowed single mother to an infant, is now an author and the leader of a successful wealth management firm that coaches clients pursuing financial independence. 74 ProfessionalAdvisors THEMOTHEROF REINVENTION T H E P L A N W A S S P O N TA N E O U S and simple. It was 1976 and Christmaswasapproaching.KenMusuneggi,aMarine ontemporarydutyinMemphis,hadsecuredleaveforthe holidaysandwaspreparingtomeethiswife,MaryGrace,who hadtraveledaheadofhimwiththeirinfantson,Christopher, fromtheMarineCorpsbaseinNewRiver,N.C.,toPittsburghto bewithfamily.ItwouldbetheirfirstChristmastogetherwith Christopher,surroundedby theirextendedfamilies. About 30 minutes outside of Pittsburgh, Ken’s car was struckbyanoncomingvehicleafteritsdriverhadfallenasleep. Both men were killed instantly. Ken was 25 years old. “In that instant, my life changed forever,” Mary Grace wrote in her first book, “A Man is Not a Plan: Success Strategies for IndependentWomen.” “I was no longer a wife and stay-at-home mother living in officers’ housing; I was a single parent of an infant, with no job and no place to live.” The array of emotional and mental challenges that accompany such an unspeakable event could have been debilitating,butshepickedherselfupandsoonfoundateaching jobandanapartment.In2002,shefoundedThe Musuneggi FinancialGrouptohelpothersachievefinancial independence. Musuneggihaswrittentwobooksandregularlyspeaksabout how womencanbuildfinancialliteracyandself-confidenceto supporttheirfamiliesandgeneratewealth.