Real life is often more fascinating than fiction. This book of essays presents life growing up in small Midwestern towns from the early 1950s to mid-1960s. People from my small towns had distinct characteristics. They were open, nosy, friendly, helpful, and urged community conformity. My heart will always rejoice in my childhood experiences, which included trying to keep my active imagination entertained and learning to understand the adult world around me. My journey included happiness an...

Emma dreams of becoming a teacher. She would be the first in her family to finish high school and would need a college degree to receive her teaching certificate. How can she possibly pay her own way?Emma also dreams of becoming a wife and mother, but her boyfriend enlisted in the Army during World War II. Should they marry before he leaves or after he returns? Would he return?Daily reality on the home front continues, but mental stress, rationing, and media war reports affec...

Truth and Fiction: Essays & Short Stories on Life shows the extraordinary impact of seemingly ordinary past experiences. Through them, we learn how they challenged and enriched us. True stories can seem as imaginative as fiction, and fiction can feel realistic.Essays written in the style of Cherry Tree Dares: Essays on Childhood, my first book, range from humorous to thought-provoking. One treasured memory is having Saturday night snacks and television time at my uncle and aunt's h...

Imagine how you would feel if you woke up one day and learned that your best friend was the most prolific serial killer in America and most of his victims looked like you. That was the start of a forty-year quest to understand the mind of a killer and friend. The search led to others like him and their dark compulsions. How can they murder multiple human beings without remorse?The Ripper's Children: Inside the World of Modern Serial Killers examines how their murderous drives may o...