The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom

As a teenager in Channelview, Texas, Wanda Holloway is forbidden by her father from trying out for the school's cheerleading team. The loss becomes a defining wound she later seeks to repair through her own daughter's success. This early rejection seeds a fixation on cheerleading as a path to status.

Years later Wanda has a daughter named Shanna and becomes determined that she will fulfill the dream she was denied. She enrolls Shanna in dance and gymnastics to boost her chances and begins steering her toward intense practice. The goal is to relive her own school glory through her daughter.

Wanda makes Shanna train for hours on end, ignoring sickness or injury in her relentless pursuit of perfection. The pressure strains mother and daughter and puts Shanna at risk of physical harm. The household becomes a constant drill ground for the coveted cheerleading future.

Amber and Verna Heath move in next door, and Amber befriends Shanna. Verna shares the same ambition for her daughter, setting up a rivalry that will complicate the competition. The neighborhood backdrop foreshadows the looming clash.

As tryouts approach, jealousy grows between Wanda and Verna even though the girls remain friends. Wanda tightens her grip on Shanna as the pressure mounts. The pretryout tension helps set the stage for future conflict.

On the day of the tryouts Amber impresses the judges and earns a spot on the squad, while Shanna fails to make it. Wanda reacts with disappointment and a stubborn resolve to keep pursuing the goal through her daughter. The outcome reshapes the neighborhood dynamic and sets the course for the next year.

The failure splits the two families when Wanda ends the friendship between Shanna and Amber. Shanna is crushed, yet Wanda doubles down on her effort to put Shanna on the team. The social fallout adds to the pressure surrounding the next attempt.

Wanda does not give up and intensifies training in the months that follow. Shanna is drilled daily as the second tryouts approach. The dream remains alive in Wanda's mind even as relationships fray.

In the following year's tryouts Amber earns a spot and is promoted to co-captain while Shanna is disqualified because of Wanda's bribery and manipulation. The family drama becomes a public scandal and deepens the rift between the central characters. The failure cements Wanda's belief that Amber is to blame for Shanna's exclusion.

Fueled by anger, Wanda plots to have Amber and Verna harmed so she can claim Shanna's exclusion was due to them. She meets her brother-in-law Terry to discuss a hit, and he records their conversation to expose the plan. Terry decides to turn Wanda in and sends the evidence to the police.

Terry records Wanda discussing the murder-for-hire plan and sends the evidence to the police. His decision to cooperate breaks the silence and starts the criminal investigation. Wanda is arrested soon after.

Wanda is arrested and faces trial, receiving a fifteen year sentence for attempted murder. A later revelation that a juror was on probation leads to release after serving only six months. The case exposes the moral cost of the obsession with cheerleading.

Following the turmoil, Shanna decides to quit trying out for the cheer team. The two relocate to California where Shanna pursues modeling, singing and acting classes. Wanda still envisions a Hollywood path for her daughter.

Wanda remains hopeful that Shanna will become a Hollywood actress no matter what it takes. She continues to push her daughter toward fame, hoping to redeem the lost opportunity of her youth. The story closes with their life in California and a fragile dream of stardom.