DeAnna Kieffer seems perfectly at home sipping a lemonade atop the sun-soaked deck of the Boat Shed Restaurant while overlooking Dyes Inlet.

Perhaps that’s because the restaurant’s deck, at 101 Shore Drive, is the former “front yard” of her aunt and uncle. Before it was an al fresco dining area with umbrella-covered tables, it was known as the Monson dock. In 1941, Kieffer and her family lived just a few hundred feet down the road.

Despite the fact that she’s being interviewed about her self-published book “My Manette: Photographs and Little Stories, 1941-1951,” Kieffer seems more interested in asking questions and learning about other people and things.

“I’m not used to peddling my own book,” Kieffer joked.

“My Manette” chronicles some of the changes experienced by Manette residents from a kid’s perspective. Kieffer’s childhood diary prompted her to write about the people and places she knew in the Manette of her youth, her reaction to the start of war, the Blimp base across the street from her house, and as she describes it, “a peek-a-boo look at the Manette of the 1940’s and a bit beyond as seen through the lives of some occupation brats.”

When she came to Manette with her family from Nebraska and they settled into life on Shore Drive, the commercial district was an assortment of small businesses; among them three grocery stores, a variety store, a tavern, a pharmacy, and Doolies, a soda fountain and burger place.

“My original intention was to simply record some family history, similar to how we shared information in my family, through conversation and anecdotes — the silly, the uncomfortable, and poignant memories. As the saying goes, it took on a life of its own. Other people with an interest in Manette became aware of the project, so I decided to share my writings with a broader audience.”

Kieffer says she was a pretty faithful diary keeper into her late teens and calls a diary “a good place to vent.” She says her diary definitely entails a child’s perspective on the world, which comes across clearly in the book.

“I hope I was true to that voice,” she said.

My Manette has 18 little stories, numerous photographs and illustrations. Kieffer says writing the book was one of the items on her bucket list. She is reluctant to name a favorite story from the book and would rather let readers decide.

“It’s like asking if you have a favorite kid,” she said. “I don’t know. I’m really not the one to judge.”

Kieffer graduated from East High School in 1957. She eventually went to work at Olymic College in 1977 and stayed there for 26 years, working in the public information office. Her book is proof positive that she still relishes her childhood in Manette.

“I still see some of my pals from when I was three years of age,” she said.

Kieffer debuted her book at a Manette History Club picnic a few months ago and has primarily sold it through word of mouth. It is now available for $15 on Amazon.com exclusively. Proceeds benefit the Manette History Club. For more information, go to www.deannajkk.info.