by Lorie Hollabaugh - The Boot
Jo Dee Messina has endured more than her share of tests -- of both her faith and perseverance -- during the past few years, yet the feisty redhead continued to forge ahead, in spite of the many setbacks she experienced during the making and eventual release of her trilogy of CDs, 'Unmistakable,' this year. The EPs took six years to be released, during which time Jo Dee stood by watching as her concert bookings continued to dwindle, forcing some of her band members to move on to other gigs. In addition, her savings disappeared right around the time she and husband, Chris Deffenbaugh, welcomed their first child, Noah, born in January, 2009.

Living off of a line of credit while she waited for her album to hit stores, Jo Dee, who turned 40 this year, was forced to downsize her possessions -- even selling off her beloved '57 Thunderbird, a gift from her producer and Tim McGraw during the heyday of her platinum-selling career just a decade earlier.

Read more