Sally's grandfather came from Sweden when 2 years old. His father died young, and as years passed, no one seemed interested in the history or any relatives still in Sweden. Sally's two older sisters, Julia Rude and Mary Thompson, searched and found an equivalent to the American side still in Smaland. The trip to discover their relatives was a wonderful and very informative experience. Perhaps that instilled in Sally the thought of including the unknown family in this book. She'd become a secretary and typed pages of history for one family she worked for. Her writing didn't come until she was a caregiver for her late husband. She'd read many books but became bored with the stories. She thought she could write better than what she was reading, and her husband said give it a try. She wrote 12 books which she says saved her sanity during the caregiving years.