Esther Dalmas always loved to write and sketch.

As her children grew up, she found herself capturing her memories on paper.

But it wasn’t until a few years ago that the Nesquehoning woman took the leap to share her writing with the world.

Dalmas wrote a book of short stories called “Sweet Memories,” which provide a glimpse into her family’s lives and how God plays a role in everything.

“My children said ‘we’ve been reading your stories and we think you should write a book,’” she said, noting that publishing a book was always on her bucket list. “So I did.”

Dalmas said the book, published through Christian Faith Publishing, is a labor of love, sharing her stories on pennies from heaven, bubbles from God, and the pink path that we journey on that leads us to a treasure in life.

It aims to invoke memories of your own childhood, while sharing the message of God.

“Most of the stories I wrote are basically true,” Dalmas said, adding that each story mixes memories together with her children, grandchildren and her own personal experiences.

In one story, “Goodwill Shop,” Dalmas recounts her thrift store find, a fine rainbow glass bowl, and how this has become one of her cherished treasures, which she displays in her living room.

In the story, Dalmas wonders about the background of this bowl and how it held memories for another person before it came to her.

“When the sun shined on it, it sparkled in a rainbow of colors,” she wrote. “When I saw that rainbow of colors, I felt that the past owner was saying ‘Thank you for putting my treasure from the past on display.’”

Dalmas hopes that her book brings families together through the stories, because they are easily relatable.

Within the pages of her book, some of her sketches were also used as illustrations for a few of the stories. All of her sketches though, can be found at the end of the book.

Dalmas was born in Easton and lived in the Lehigh Valley, where she and her husband, Elario, raised two children, Michael and Lori. The couple moved to Nesquehoning eight years ago and have settled into life in what she calls “paradise surrounded by mountains” or “God’s land.”

The book is now available for purchase on Amazon by searching “Sweet Memories” by Esther Dalmas.