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Lisa Batten Kunkleman, a former guidance counselor turned writer, has published Just Because I Used to CouldLife Stories and Beyond, a collection of wise, witty and heartfelt stories.

"If Erma Bombeck had grown up in a small hometown like Whiteville, in eastern North Carolina, moved to a farm in Charlotte, been a middle school guidance counselor, raised a daughter and a set of triplets with her husband, she might have written a book very similar," says Kathy Thorson Gruhn, author of Drug Tested for Being Happy. "While reading, I felt as if I were rocking on my front porch with Lisa by my side telling me her tales."

Included in the collection are award-winning essays Rest In Peace, a story about a toad funeral with a surprise ending and I Cry at Everything, which is not only accurate, but also humorous and self-explanatory. Among the 48 tales, topics include:

Large families: parenting triplets plus one more

Chewing ugly smoothies, growing muffin tops and making the most of mammograms

Motherhood, empty nest and pet overload

Hot flashes, turkey necks and midlife living

Hurricanes, gators and mayflies, oh my

The good old days of tanning and carefree living

Mom's wisdom, memory hacks, and senior moments

Realization that just because I used to could, doesn't mean I should

A lifelong journal-keeper, history-lover, and amateur genealogist, Lisa says she feels compelled to write life stories.Her non-fiction work, a mix of serious and humorous tales, has been published in a variety of magazines and newspapers, and shared on NPR.