For Tambra Eifert, lecturer of geology, many years of adventure and mystery compelled her to write a fictional story called “Zoey’s World.”

At noon on Friday, Nov. 1 people gathered in the Ichabod shop to listen to Eifert perform a reading of her book.

“Zoey’s World” focuses on a 9-year-old girl, who is depicted as Eifert’s mother DeeDoe. Eifert wrote this book to connect the upbringing of her mother and herself, then combine them into a single character, which is Zoey.

 “When I wrote this book, in a way, my mom felt like she had also written it because she was giving me a lot of the information,” Eifert said. “There is a part of it that is true from my mom, a lot of what is true for the 1940s, and then another part of it was with my own experiences.”

Eifert remains close to her mother today and applies her lessons to the harsh struggles of everyday life. Life is not fair, and life is meant to shape people into becoming the best versions of themselves.

 “She (Dee Doe) experiences loss in many ways, from when her friend moves away to losing her dear friend, Jimmy Skyhawk,” Eifert said. “That shows some challenges within her life, but a stranger event was when they saw the mysterious lights that were appearing in their town.”

As children, the many adventures that the Eifert family was exposed to, provided them with real-world experiences of history and storytelling. This is something that can be taught to children today. Childlike innocence and mystery is what Eifert notices about all children even today.

Eifert believes going back to core values that kids instinctively had when they were younger can serve as a guideline for how people should interact with each other today.

“The children are more innocent and more accepting of each other,” Eifert said. “As we grow older, we tend to find fault in other people and judge them. Whether it be for a good reason, or because we make ourselves insecure, we might put someone down to make ourselves feel better.”

In “Zoey’s World,” Eifert has composed a tale that reminds its readers to think back to a simpler time, and to show some compassion. 

“My character reminds me of how to be compassionate and caring because we all get caught up in our own worlds,” Eifert said. “We’ve got a lot on our plates, right?”

Kenneth Bangert, who graduated in 2019 with a degree in health science, was at the book-reading event where Eifert read a chapter from “Zoey’s World.” Bangert was really interested in the suspense built by Eifert.

“I enjoyed the reading. It was about a noise in the attic. She was suspenseful with the chapter she read. It was exciting.” said Bangert.

Edited by Jada Johnson, Adam White, Brianna Smith, Abbie Barth