With her debut novel, If You Were Here , Jen Lancaster “[leapt] into the fiction arena with her rapier-sharp wit in one hand and a fistful of Home Depot gift cards in the other” ( New York Times bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson).  Now she goes from the trauma of home renovation to the drama of soul renovation in Here I Go Again .... Twenty years after ruling the halls of her suburban Chicago high school, Lissy Ryder doesn’t understand why her glory days ended. Back then, she was worshipped…beloved…feared. Present day, not so much. She’s been pink-slipped from her high-paying job, dumped by her husband, and kicked out of her condo. Now, at thirty-seven, she’s struggling to start a business from her parents’ garage and sleeping under the hair-band posters in her old bedroom. Lissy finally realizes karma is the only bitch bigger than she was. Her present is miserable because of her past. But it’s not like she can go back in time and change who she was...or can she? “This is the only book in twenty years that made me wipe my eyes. Jen Lancaster’s like a modern-day, bawdy Erma Bombeck....I couldn’t put it down!”—Lisa Lampanelli, New York Post “Entertaining, humorous, and well-written, and the characters are perfection; those of you who grew up in the eighties will be transported back there as if it was only yesterday.”—Examiner.com “ Mean Girls meets Back to the Future …scathingly witty and lots of fun.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A whimsical twist on the Back to the Future scenario…a fitting and none too treacly close. Quantum physics was never funnier. A great read.”— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A charming comedy in the vein of movies like Big and 13 Going on 30 ….Readers will find it easy to root for the frank and funny heroine of this winsome, whimsical tale...downright fun.”— Booklist (starred review)   Jen Lancaster is the New York Times bestselling author of ten books: Twisted Sisters , The Tao of Martha , Here I Go Again , Jeneration X , If You Were Here , My Fair Lazy , Pretty in Plaid , Such a Pretty Fat, Bright Lights, Big Ass , and Bitter is the New Black.  She has appeared on Today , The Joy Behar Show, and NPR’s All Things Considered . She resides in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband and their ever-expanding menagerie of ill-behaved pets. Prologue Every high school has a Lissy Ryder—you know, the girl who’s absolutely untouchable. She goes by many names, but you might have known her as the Prom Queen. The Head Cheerleader. The Mean Girl. The Bitch. She was the richest and the prettiest, with the blondest hair, the thinnest thighs, and the hottest car, and she never let you forget it. Nothing made her happier than stealing your boyfriend, just to see if she could. And she could. Of course she could. She was Lissy Ryder. Lissy Ryder spent her teen years making yours miserable. She’s the one who “accidentally” tripped you on the bus, mocked the sweater your sweet old Nana knitted, and told the boys you stuffed socks in your bra, despite being the one who taught you how to do it. (Ankle socks. The trick is using ankle socks.) Every time she looked at you, sighed, and rolled her eyes, a little piece of you died inside. You hated her. You wanted to destroy her. But you were satisfied just to graduate and get away from her. So you went to college, grew up, and now live a successful, fulfilling life, vaguely wondering if that thing called “karma” ever comes for the Lissy Ryders of the world. Hmm . . . let’s find out. Chapter One Perfection Is Overrated Oh, honey, no . I scan the woman’s outfit up and down. A thong-bottom leotard worn over neon tights? With high-top Reeboks? Seriously? I’m sorry, were you possessed by the ghost of 1983? I sigh into my Bluetooth. “What are people thinking when they come here dressed as extras in an Olivia Newton-John video? This is the West End Club, not some nineteen-dollar-a-month Boys Town storefront, full of old StairMasters and HPV germs. So shameful. So inappropriate.” glance at my properly clad self in the mirror across from where I’m paused on the elliptical machine. Lululemon Wunder Groove cropped capris paired with a Back on Track tank in Heathered Pig Pink? Check. Long blond layers of honey and ash (never platinum—I mean, who am I? Holly Madison?) pulled into a messy, yet attractive high pony? Check. Smashbox O-Glow blush and a swipe of MAC Lipglass in Early Bloomer? Check. I continue. “The West End Club is a sophisticated place and you’re pretty much nobody in Chicago if you don’t belong. I mean, Oprah’s a member, for God’s sake. I wish the Big O were here right now, because she’d be all, ‘My friend Jane Fonda called and she wants her leg warmers back.’” Nicole is my go-to person for phoning when I’m working out, because she’s always home. I’d urge her to get a life, but frankly it’s kind of nice being able to chat with her whenever I want. She hesitates on th