Several months ago, I was invited to participate in a book project by fellow-LDS author Anne Bradshaw. Her idea was to collect a series of short essays by other well-known LDS artists on the topic of family home evening. I didn't know how the project would turn out, but I wrote my essay, helped her obtain essays from both Alan and Amy Osmond who are friends of mine, then sat back to see how the entire project would come together.

This month I found out. Famous Family Nights has been released by Cedar Fort Publishers and as soon as I got my copy, I sat down to read. What a wonderful experience this has turned out to be. Each essay has touched my heart in some way. Ive learned new ideas to try with my own children during home evening, felt the spirit as Ive shared in the experiences of other families and seen how holding home evening can make a difference, even when youre wrangling a bunch of kids who claim they dont want to be there.

The essays in this collection come from a wide range of contributorsauthors, musicians, artists, and educators among them. There are names you might knowSusan Easton Black, David Glen Hatch, Rachel Ann Nunes, and Dian Thomas to name a few. I feel lucky to have my name among the illustrious group that make up the entire list of ninety-one.

Famous Family Nights is great reading, even if you are only a family of one.

Readers will discover that their family and situation is much like that of others as we all do our best to nurture and teach those around us in the basics of the gospel, while building the relationship between members of the family.

Confetti Antiques will be hosting Anne Bradshaw (Famous Family Nights), along with E.J. Tims (The Big Red Bike), for autographs on Saturday, August 29 from noon to 2:00 p.m. Ill be there as well to sign copies of When Hearts Conjoin and Famous Family Nights. We hope to see you there.

Lu Ann Staheli is the author of When Hearts Conjoin: The Story of the Herrin Twins which is available at Confetti Antiques or online at www.utahtwins.com.