Lisa Franco visited Cheshire Academy on May 15 to speak about the process behind writing and publishing her book, “My Dearest Darling: Letters of Love in Wartime.” 

A local author, researcher, and longtime writer/producer for WTNH 8, Franco’s novel follows the handwritten letters between U.S. naval officer Donald Storey and his love back home, Margery, while he was serving overseas in World War II.  

Franco visited students in Allison Bass-Riccio’s Creative Writing and Expression of Place classes, as well as Matthew Fonts’ U.S. History classes. She also shared a casual lunch with students in the Gideon Welles Dining Commons.

Franco first discovered the handwritten letters between Donald and Margery while shopping at an antique store in Cape Cod, she told the students. Her curiosity was piqued; the following day, she returned to the store and purchased the letters. What followed was multiple years of research, fact checking, connecting with the Storey family, meeting with Margery, and learning about the family’s life after World War II.