A nostalgic look at family, hardship, and the kind of love that never fades.

August 2025 – Cedar Top, Pennsylvania — In a world that is dominated by fast-paced digital media and instant gratification, writer Sandra Henne Wentzel takes readers back to a simpler time, when family, religion, and conversations on the front porch were the most important things. Her memoir debut, The Hen House, is a moving collection of personal tales gleaned from her youth in rural 1950s and 1960s Pennsylvania. More than just a stroll back in time, it’s a celebration of the power of simplicity, resilience, and love that is enduring every single day.

Growing up in Cedar Top Mountain as a twin, in a family that was not only filled with siblings, but also with an ever-changing group of foster kids, Sandra paints a revealing picture of a family that was tight-knit with little in their pockets, but everything in their hearts. Sandra’s stories are told with humor, warmth, and sincerity, whether watching snow fall over her father’s car in a historic blizzard and playing with a doll and her younger sister or watching her mom tenderly take care of children with no place to go.

Written as a tribute to Little House on the Prairie as well as The Waltons, The Hen House is a collection of journal entries that have been passed from generation to generation, with Sandra’s voice uniquely her own, soft, unpretentious, raw, and memorable.

“I didn’t set out to write a perfect story,” Sandra shares. “I just wanted to remember what it felt like to be seen, to be loved, and to survive together.”

The Hen House offers more than nostalgia. This is an important reminder of how the world doesn’t have to be huge for it to have meaning. It’s the simple meals as well as the stories at bedtime, or the sled ride down an unpaved hill, and the irresistible connection of a sister’s hands in yours. Readers from all different walks of life, particularly those who were raised in close-knit households, fought challenges, or long to see “the good old days,” will be smiling and crying while reading this book.

Critics and readers alike are calling it “a gentle masterpiece of American memory.”

The Hen House is available now on KDP and major retailers. Whether you’re a fan of memoirs, small-town Americana, or simply crave a story that feels like home, this is the book that will stay with you long after the final page.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sandra Henne Wentzel grew up on Cedar Top Mountain in rural Pennsylvania, and her early life was characterized by struggle, simplicity, and a home brimming with love. As a twin, daughter, and later a foster caretaker, Sandra discovered the value of love, resilience, and family. Inspired by her own personal experiences, as well as nostalgia for Little House on the Prairie, she created “The Hen House” to commemorate the past and preserve the stories that shaped her. Today, retired and in peace with her husband of more than sixty years, Sandra is a writer who enjoys contemplating and sharing her life experiences with people who believe in the beauty of the world as it is.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Author: Sandra Henne Wentzel

Format: e-book and paperback

Available at: KDP and other major book retailers

For info: info@americanpublishingnetwork.com