West Alexander author to release sixth book
Martha Dougherty’s sixth book will be published in the spring. Her new book, “That’s the Way it Was,” will discuss what life was like growing up in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
Martha Dougherty of West Aleaxander will have her sixth book published in the spring. Her books focus on life growing up in the mid-20th century, as well as three books that showcase Dougherty’s photos and short stories about animals or landscapes from the object’s point of view.
West Alexander author Martha Dougherty typed her first book in 1970 on a Royal typewriter that used cloth ribbons.
By the time her aptly titled sequel, “Thirty-Six Years Later,” was completed in 2006, she had a computer, printer and four color televisions.
Technology has come a long way, but Dougherty’s dedication to writing remains unchanged. Her upcoming book, “That’s the Way It Was,” will share her reflections on life in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s. The nonfiction book will be published this spring by Double Edge Press, a Christian publishing house in Scenery Hill.
No one is more surprised about her latest literary venture than Dougherty, who is now 80. She said her fifth book – the third volume in her “If Only I Could Talk” photography series – would be her last. But a relative encouraged her to write another book about her childhood to preserve her memories for generations to come.
Her latest book follows in the “country journal” style she honed in her first two books. It chronicles “how growing up was so different from the way kids are growing up today, and how life has changed, and the little quirky things I remember from growing up in that time frame,” Dougherty said.
She touches on her memories during World War II, at which time her father was an air raid warden who patrolled the neighborhood until midnight to ensure everyone’s home was pitch black.
“We had the blackout, and everybody had to have black drapes or curtains to put over their windows so no light from inside the house would shine out,” she said.
At the time, the country feared an attack by the Germans.
“I think there’s going to be things in there that will surprise people in general,” Dougherty’s daughter, Rebecca Melvin, said of her mother’s upcoming book. “If nothing else, people can really get a true glimpse and compare what today is like with years ago.”
Melvin owns Double Edge Press, but said her mother was subjected to the same scrutiny as any other author seeking publication.
Dougherty, an avid reader, often kept two books at work at any given time. She retired from her job as assistant payroll supervisor at the Washington County controller’s office in 1999.
She also took an early interest in photography and enjoys capturing shots of historic barns and covered bridges. Her “Talk” books include photographs in which the subjects – barns, animals, even an old outhouse – take on a persona and share their stories. Some are funny, some are sad and others take on an almost poetic quality. But all are meticulously researched in order to preserve the historical integrity of her subjects.
“All through the years, I would take pictures of all this stuff,” she said, “and I would think, ‘Boy, if that covered bridge could talk, what kind of story would it tell me?'”
One of her photography essays was published by Country Magazine, and all of her books are available for purchase on Amazon.
Melvin said she had the opportunity to watch her mother’s writing flourish over the years, and her latest book is honest and bold.
“To be really successful as a writer, you cannot write with your audience in mind of what are they going to think … That’s when you get your best stuff, and I think she’s really attained that,” Melvin said. “I think she’s hit that point where she’s not blinking anymore, and she’s looking it straight in the eye.”