AMHERST – Do you remember your childhoods? Longtime Amherst residents Susan Spiess and Peggy Silva have documented stories of growing up in Amherst from the memories of the children who grew up there during the era of the 1950s and 1960s.

Not a history, but stories and photos woven into a cohesive narrative.

HOME. A Sense of Place; A Sense of Belonging is the story of children of the Greatest Generation, whose parents took off their uniforms, hid their medals and began their life in this small, rural, insular, town of 1,400, the same number of residents as when the town had been chartered in 1760. The story covers farm life, village life, playtime, schools, responses to world events and stories of the adults who made a difference. Their contributors shared stories as varied as being served raspberry fluff and crackers in kindergarten to riding horses throughout town, to celebrations and loss. Now a town of almost 12,000, this book is a nostalgic look at days gone by.

The book is available at Balin Books in Nashua, Casual Cat in Amherst, Postal Center in Milford, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online sources in hardcover, paperback and eBook formats.