Authors Den with international Author Mary Lu

 Father’s Shadow” (published by iUniverse), a young, American girl wrestles with the challenges of a military family constantly on the move during the Cold War. Through her 14 moves in 10 years, frequent travel and exposure to historical places, Darst saw the world in a different way than her parents. Darst says she was inspired to share her story by the “Discovery of my father’s WWII diary after his death which helped me finally understand him and appreciate why we had not bonded the way fathers and daughters usually do.” She has launched a new marketing push for the book. Taking place in Alaska, Japan, Germany, Europe and other locations, “War Ready” allows Darst to step back in time to take a look at her childhood, life inside a military family, the toll of post-traumatic stress disorder and the adventures of travel. “I want readers to have insight into the military life of an American family, their travels, and experiences in other countries,” she says. An excerpt from “War Ready”: There were wrenching, heart breaking good-byes; fear of the unknown; fear that an American uniform would provoke a negative response; and the simmering fear that we would not return to our families.