Written by Ilene W. Devlin

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 house. Another examines my amazement at the lack of people’s common sense. A third reveals how my first ship cruise to the Bahamas became a chaotic and frustrating travel adventure.

In the fiction section, short stories range from the inspirational to the suspenseful to the comedic. In one, a lonely woman encounters an astute young lad who needs a friend. Another features a man who finds death to be the permanent solution. A third show how laughter sometimes is all one has left after life’s bruises.

Truth and Fiction can help readers develop insights into life. They may then gain more understanding of their own journey.

Cherry Tree Dares: Essays on Childhood written by Ilene W. Devlin was released in November 2020. In it, she describes her growing up in small Midwestern towns during the 1950s and 1960s. She dedicates her book to those from small towns or who wish they were. Real life is often more fascinating than fiction. To understand our lives as adults, we often reflect on important childhood events. Such adventures shaped us, making us who we are today.“People from my small towns had distinct characteristics. They were open, nosy, friendly, and helpful and encouraged community conformity. My heart will always rejoice in my childhood experiences. Those included trying to keep my active imagination entertained and to understand adults. My journey involved happiness and sorrow, the spectrum of emotions that many children encounter. Come explore life’s mysteries through my essay ‘Cherry Tree Dares’, my black eye in ‘The Chartreuse Monarch’ bicycle and ‘The Last Kiss’ between my mother and me.” Ilene W. Devlin Cherry Tree Dares: Essays on Childhood is the author’s first published nonfiction book.

Emma’s World: A World War II Memoir is a narrative nonfiction book by Ilene W. Devlin released in November 2020. The work is based on published research, family oral history and personal diaries and letters from World War II. This inspiring story shows one young American woman’s resilience in achieving her dreams by overcoming life’s obstacles. The book traces Emma’s life in Missouri in the 1930s through the end of World War II. Emma dreams of becoming a teacher. She would be the first in her family to finish high school but needs a college degree to receive her teaching certificate. She makes many sacrifices to succeed. Emma also dreams of becoming a wife and mother, but her boyfriend enlists in the Army during World War II. She faces the decision of whether they should marry before he leaves or after he returns, if he does so. Emma’s and Peter’s daily letters to each other are the heart of the second half of the book. Daily reality on the Midwestern home front continues, but stress, rationing and media war reports adversely affect all community members. From enduring muddy roads to learning about modern warfare, they find that their perspective constantly shifts from mundane life to world-altering events.