Heidi Peaster was born into a sprawling, Southern family and was raised on sprawling, Southern family stories. They always fascinated her. As she states: "Every family has a story; some of them almost impossible to believe." Over the past forty years, she has crafted the story of the fictitious McKenna family, an historical saga beginning in the 1800's. Written almost entirely in long-hand, the books took shape during naptime as she and her husband, Roger, raised their own three biological daughters, fostered some thirty-something special needs children and ultimately adopted six. As Peaster says: "The McKennas helped me raise all those kids." The release of her newest McKenna Chronicles Book is particularly exciting as it marks the second of the "series within the series" of the Family's involvement in World War II. These books take the reader from Camp Toccoa and the genesis of the Airborne units through the war in Europe and the Pacific, as seen through several members of the Family's complex journeys. As always, the McKenna family's relationships are intertwined as they send the men to an uncertain future, never knowing who will come back. When the war ends, the returning warriors quickly find that there is no happily-ever-after; there are changed relationships and difficult memories, as well as unexpected blessings. "It has been an on-going thrill interviewing veterans and sons of veterans of WWII for this new book," Peaster states. "It is a huge responsibility to 'get it right' for them; to show some tiny measure of appreciation for what they did during that dark time. I hope that these two books do that."