FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Many folks seeking information on their ancestors from the Civil War era find the connecting threads are few and often tenuous. While they might be augmented by a few deteriorating mementos, anecdotes or a Daguerreotype or tintype image handed down through the years, most of the time, the details are limited to the military, census and other public records that made it to the 21st century.

Some are satisfied with these sparse details and move on to try and flesh out other branches in their family tree. However brief the search and scant the results, many searchers can’t help but daydream about what the lives of these ancestors, who experienced the American conflict that split families asunder, were like.

On occasion, one has the rare luck to have had an ancestor who wrote about important events of his/her life. Even rarer, these writings are treasured and carefully handed down by family members from generation to generation.

Such was the case with David Wilson Atwood. The journals of his great-great-grandfather became the foundation for his novel “Where the Mockingbird Sang: A novel of the Civil War.” This amalgam of journal entries, historical research and fictional fancy tell the Civil War experiences of Evans Atwood and his family.

Their home is the pastoral setting of Shilo, Ark. But the Great War between the States leaves few areas to their own devices, and Arkansas is no exception. Atwood and his best friend enlist in the 15th Arkansas Infantry. His departure leaves his young family to face battles of their own.

The author weaves an enchanting tale of conflict, depravation and betrayal on the battlefield and the home front. It is a time when families wonder where their next meal is coming from and soldiers wonder where the next bullet will hit. Families wonder if they will ever see their absent ones again and soldiers wonder if they will ever make it home again. And the paucity of the mail service leaves these concerns hanging in limbo for months on end.

Atwood’s enlistment eventually carries him to combat in Vicksburg, Miss. and Port Gibson, where he is captured and taken to a military prison in the North. His struggle to honor his duty to his country and his family add to the desperate struggle he faces as the two fractured sections of America collide in bloody conflict. While he observes the best and the worst in the characters of his military compatriots, war also brings forth the best and the worst in the characters of his family members back in Arkansas.

“Where The Mockingbird Sang” is an interesting read. You will be driven to find out if Evans Atwood ever finds true peace and restoration after the war.

Atwood is also the author of “The Common Guys Guide to Raising Children.” He is best known for his long running column, “Points of the Compass” in the Anchorage Daily News, Talk of the Bay magazine and here in Baldwin People.

He will sign books Aug. 7, from 2-4 p.m., at Page & Palette, 32 S. Section St. in Fairhope.

For more information, call (251) 928-5295.