The Magnolia story / Chip and Joanna Gaines with Mark Dagostino.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

An exclusive look at America's first family of renovation! Taking you behind the scenes, Chip and Joanna Gaines share the story of how they met, the ups and downs of being an entrepreneurial couple, and how they built a life they love.

The Magnolia Story is the first book from dynamic husband-and-wife team Chip and Joanna Gaines, stars of HGTV's Fixer Upper. Offering their fans a detailed look at their life together, they share everything from the very first renovation project they ever tackled together to the project that nearly cost them everything; from the childhood memories that shaped them, to the twists and turns that led them to the life they share on the farm today.

While they both attended Baylor University in Waco, their paths didn't cross until Chip checked his car into the local Firestone tire shop where Joanna worked behind the counter. Even back then Chip was a serial entrepreneur who, among other things, ran a lawn care company, sold fireworks, and flipped houses. Soon they were married and living in their first fixer upper.

Four children and countless renovations later, Joanna garnered the attention of a television producer who noticed her work on a blog one day, leading to the incredible Fixer Upper phenomenon.

In The Magnolia Story, fans will finally get to join the Gaines family behind the scenes and discover:

The time Chip ran to the grocery store and forgot to take their new, sleeping baby Joanna's agonizing decision to close her dream business to focus on raising their children When Chip buys a houseboat, sight-unseen, and it turns out to be a leaky wreck Harrowing stories of the financial ups and downs as an entrepreneurial couple Memories and photos from Chip and Jo's wedding The significance of the word magnolia and why it permeates everything they do The way the couple pays the popularity of Fixer Upper forward, sharing the success with others, and bolstering the city of Waco along the way

And yet there is still one lingering question for fans of the show: Is Chip really that funny "Oh yeah," says Joanna. "He was, and still is, my first fixer upper."

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Blessings in (a Big, Ugly) Disguise (p. ix)
• Chapter 1 First Dates and Second Chances (p. 1)
• Chapter 2 New Directions (p. 13)
• Chapter 3 Something Old, Something New (p. 27)
• Chapter 4 The Honeymoon's Over (p. 37)
• Chapter 5 Opening Up (p. 49)
• Chapter 6 White Picket Fences (p. 61)
• Chapter 7 One Door Closes (p. 75)
• Chapter 8 Down to Our Roots (p. 85)
• Chapter 9 Chipping In (p. 95)
• Chapter 10 Flipping Out (p. 107)
• Chapter 11 Home-less (p. 121)
• Chapter 12 Getting to the Bottom (p. 133)
• Chapter 13 Surviving or Thriving (p. 143)
• Chapter 14 Heeding the Call (p. 157)
• Chapter 15 The Bloom (p. 173)
• About the Authors (p. 183)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

HGTV's hit show Fixer Upper stars Chip and Joanna Gaines of Waco, TX, who are popular because they are real, hardworking people to whom the audience can relate. On their show, the Gaineses help their clients purchase and renovate houses in various states of disrepair. This is the story of how Chip and Joanna grew up, met, started to date (even after Chip showed up 90 minutes late to their first date!), fell in love, got married, ran a successful business, and had four children. Listeners will be interested to find out that if not for the purchase of a run-down houseboat by Chip, the Gaineses might never have gotten a television show. As far as the narration of the audio by the authors, Joanna sometimes reads too quickly and at times Chip has a wooden delivery very different from his natural speech on air. VERDICT The many fans of Fixer Upper will be enthralled to spend some time behind the scenes with the Gaines family.-Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

The husband and wife team who host HGTV's Fixer Upper and own Magnolia Homes, Magnolia Market, and Magnolia Realty in Waco, Tex., shed light on their success in business and family endeavors, giving fans a humble and heartwarming view of the long and bumpy road leading up to their hit show. Their story translates perfectly into the audio format; Joanna and Chip both read with their signature Texas drawl. Joanna's impressive cadence and pronunciation is on par with professional audiobook narrators. Her voice is clear and she projects well, and she reads with such a fluid, fast pace that she sounds like she is reminiscing with her husband rather than reading off the page. Chip's reading is slower and his voice not as polished, but he's nevertheless endearing. With the authors taking turns reading short sections, the audiobook captures the couple's special dynamic. There is never a dull moment. A Thomas Nelson hardcover. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.