To pen her recently released books, Schuylkill County writer Erika Hanover drew from several real life experiences.

Hanover’s “Everything Happens for a Reason: Using Life’s Hardships to Direct the Future, Jessica & Ryan’s Story” was released in March, and three months later, she published its sequel, “Everything Happens for a Reason: People with a Purpose, The Beginning of Jessica & Jaxson.”

“Writing a book has always been something I wanted to do; this year just seemed to be my year where I felt it was time to do it,” Hanover said. “Writing this was also very therapeutic for myself and I would encourage anyone who ever thought about it to do it.”

The first book, she explained, introduces readers to Jessica, a small town girl who pursues her dreams despite hardships and trauma.

“Jessica finds true love after a devastating breakup with her high school sweetheart only to tragically lose her true love at her side,” Hanover said.

Readers will question whether Jessica will find real love and happiness again.

In the second book, Jessica is offered her dream job of becoming a critical care flight nurse — and meets Jaxson.

“Reflecting on her past with Ryan (her high school sweetheart), Jessica presses through periods of self-doubt as Jaxson encourages her to continue to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse practitioner,” according to Hanover.

As Jessica and Jaxson continue to become closer, she steps up as his family undergoes devastating events.

“Together Jessica and Jaxson navigate life’s many unexpected turbulences only to prove that even after tremendous losses it is still possible to find happiness, purpose, connection and love again,” Hanover said.

Both stories are meant to be inspirational to readers who are also facing difficult challenges, she noted.

And since Jessica pursues her dream of becoming a critical care flight nurse, the second book contains many medical-related tales.

The books are a first for Hanover.

“Book one was a quick write and read,” she said, noting that she might develop it into an extended version with more details and dialogue. “Since it was my first book it was definitely a learning curve as I did not have any professional help to create, format or publish.”

As for the second book, its cover features a flight nurse and a medical helicopter.

“When I saw this in print it was very emotional,” Hanover said. “The cover was created to depict my own experiences, and I hope it draws the attention of the reader as well.”

Already, she’s gotten 5-star reviews on Amazon from folks who have read her books.

One reader said the story brought them to tears, and another said they found the reads very inspirational.

Hanover writes under a pen name.

“The pen name was inspired by the person who inspired me to be anyone I wanted to be and to always reach for my dreams just as both books display,” she said.

Hanover has Facebook and TikTok accounts to share information about her books.