Letter from Belleau Wood

By Mary Lou Cheatham

Description:

Trudy and Jeremy grew up in the same neighborhood, and they have always loved each other. She is a part of a large blended family living near a south Mississippi village. Jeremy, having lost all his family, makes his way through the world alone. At the beginning of World War I, he becomes so enthralled with his goals to succeed that he neglects Trudy, who has reached the stage in life where she wants to be loved. Trudy and Jeremy attend separate colleges. She meets Lance, her brother Will’s handsome roommate, who gives her constant loving attention. The time comes for all three young men to go fight in France. When Trudy, who is left behind, encounters challenges, she must look within herself to solve problems. In a time when people must rely on writing letters, she receives unforeseen news. Letter from Belleau Wood pays tribute to the brave men and women who live and die during the Great War and portrays the horror of the 1918 pandemic of influenza.

Book Takeaway:

In life's hardships, one needs to reach toward God for strength. It is okay to rely on others for help, and it is important to look for ways to help others. The most difficult experiences of life are blessings because they provide the growth.

Why the author wrote this book:

Letter from Belleau Wood, the seventh of the Covington Chronicles, concludes the coming of age of Trudy Cameron, along with her brother Will and their best friend Jeremy. Many readers have asked me what became of Trudy and Jeremy when they grew up. Although Trudy and Jeremy are fictional, they have become real for my readers and me. In order for the book to stand alone, I passs briefly through the lives of the main characters in the first few chapters.

My publisher suggested I write a book about the influenza pandemic of 1918 and about World War I. She believed that readers could gain an understanding of the Covid-19 pandemic if they knew more about what happened in 1918. The story began forming in my mind. An elderly friend told me a story about her college years. Since childhood, she and a boy had always been best friends. When the United States entered World War II, she fell in love with someone else--a young man who became a soldier. Telling more of her story would spoil Letter from Belleau Wood.
Several events came from my heart and found their way into the story. When I was a teenager, our house burned. My father was home alone, and when we returned home, we couldn't find him. A few minutes later, he walked from the barn into the yard. As the story developed, I felt a need to show the feelings of a young woman going through an unwanted pregnancy. When I was a freshman in college, I knew an unselfish young woman who had grown up in an orphanage. One summer a sweet elderly woman let me rent a room in her home. My mother-in-law and her sister attended MUW in Columbus, Mississippi. None of the stories in the book are replicas of life events, but actual events help give authenticity to situations I love to include in my writing.

The most significant aspect of the novel involves Trudy's struggle with her sense of morality. I have endeavored to show how conflicted a young woman can feel as she seeks to make the right decisions.