THE COLLECTION:

Every family has a secret. Hers remained hidden for a hundred years.

Imagine that you are a twenty-five-year-old widow with two small boys, no income, no assets, no family support in a time where there was no government support infrastructure.  Where a woman was expected to stay at home with the children and tend to the home without the option of a career to earn the money needed to survive.  Uneducated and illiterate, Magdalena was determined to survive in anyway should could.  She needed to give her sons both the opportunity to succeed at life as well as to see how strength in the face adversity can be an ally.   Magdalena’s fight against a community which judged her harshly for her very public “secret”, is an inspiration for all who value what is right, over rules.  With the help of her partner and her dead husband’s civil war comrades, she would take the fight to those who judge so easily.

The compilation of forty-nine letters written home to family, by Private John Weikel Derr during the tumultuous period of the American Civil War. These letters, spanning his four years of service in the 48th regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, convey the life and feelings of an average union soldier during the war. From his energetic first letter home, after volunteering, to his more dark moods further along in the conflict, Derr reveals a common theme amongst most soldiers..."War is Hell". This book contains all of these letters home, along with accompanying narrative regarding the meaning of phrases, words, and actions of this Pennsylvania German farmer from the 1860s. Sometimes compelling, sometimes common, the letters show how war can be punctuated by months of boredom, interrupted by moments of terror. In this book, I attempt to convey these thoughts and feelings.

A HORRIBLY BEAUTIFUL LIFE (2023)

(The Letters Series Book #3)

He was a man unhappy with his lot in life. Destined to a life of his ancestors and not participating in the journey of the American Dream. John wanted more than plowing fields and harvesting crops. His dreams were bigger and more suited to an adventurer than a farmer. His love of family was the only anchor that held him back to a home where life was more like that of colonial days, than of an emerging American empire. His yearning for a different life led to one of both happiness and deep sadness in his horribly beautiful life.

“…The complexities between and among people often fade with time. It is difficult to truly comprehend relationships in our families, in our communities, in our country, and in our world. This is especially difficult when doing so in times of war.

Mr. James P. Derr shares his well-researched family history around the time of America’s most tragic conflict, the Civil War, in three books based on letters from his family and in-depth study. In this third book, he illustrates the nature of relationships before, during and after combat. Jim brings to life the story of those in his family who fought, the people they served, and impact on the families…”

Sinclair M. Harris

Rear Admiral, United States Navy (Retired)