Mt. Pleasant native Mason Nichols to host book signing

MT. PLEASANT – A Mt. Pleasant native is returning to his stomping grounds for a book signing next week.

Mason Nichols, a 2011 graduate of Mt. Pleasant High School, has written a book titled “Yellow Ribbons” about his father Rick’s deployment to Iraq in 2005 when Mason was in sixth grade. The book includes Nichols’ thoughts and anxieties about having his father away for 14 months while fearing for his safety. Nichols also details the way in which he learned to rely on his classmates, teachers and the Mt. Pleasant community for support.

Nichols lives in Texas now, but is traveling back home for a book signing from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 23 at Central Park Coffee Company, located at 111 W. Monroe St. in Mt. Pleasant. Nichols said he’s done several book signings in Texas, including at a school where he previously taught, but this will be his only planned event in Iowa.

Rick was a member of the U.S. Army’s 224th Battalion. During his 14-month deployment to Iraq, he was afforded two weeks off to visit his family. Nichols recalls that, when his dad came back for that brief stint, he remembers feeling a great sense of pride in his father’s service, but also a sad realization that he would soon be without his dad for another lengthy stretch.

Nichols said he began writing his book “Yellow Ribbons” during the pandemic. He wanted to write the very sort of book he wished he had access to when he was a boy, something that could be read by the families of deployed soldiers.

Those who’d like to order a copy of the book can find it at the publisher’s website, Crimson Dragon Publishing at crimsondragonpublishing.com, or at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com

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