March 29, 2024

Mongar shares life story in new book ‘Gravel Dust’

“We all have a story to tell.”

These are the words from Larry W. Mongar’s book, “Gravel Dust.”

Mongar, who lives in Osceola and works at Chipp’s Harley Davidson, was recently inspired to write a book because of his father’s aging.

“I intended the book to be about the deterioration of my dad, and it just kind of went from there,” Mongar said.

Mongar discussed a moment when he saw his father Billy having trouble shoveling.

“I thought the shovel was frozen to the ground, and I went to walk over there, and I realized he just couldn’t lift it,” he said.

Plot

The plot of “Gravel Dust” takes place over a three-day period of morel mushroom hunting and coming back each day empty handed.

“The book is considered a memoir but it’s also fiction because I had to place everything into a three-day period,” Mongar said. “Even though, everything that I’ve written in there has happened.”

The synopsis on the back of book states “Sometimes what you are desperately searching for is right under your nose. That’s the lesson of this fascinating memoir from a character who has grown up in what seems to be the least dramatic place in the country: small-town Iowa. Yet, even in small farming town, life can bring harsh blows and many crazy turns. Follow the journey of one man from childhood trauma to drug addiction to settling down into a rewarding family life while gaining the respect of the man he always wanted to please, but was never quite able to: his father.”

Mongar admitted he used to be a methamphetamine addict for a long time, but has been sober for the past couple of years. He said he realized one day he was “done” with it all.

Now, one of Mongar’s passions is writing, and putting the many thoughts and ideas running through his head into words. It took Mongar approximately three and a-half months to write “Gravel Dust.”

Available

The book, which was published by Page Publishing, is out now.

It’s available on Amazon.com and will soon be available for order at bookstores such as Barnes and Noble. It will eventually be available as an e-book online at sites such as iTunes and Google Play.

Mongar said “Gravel Dust” is the first book in a three-book series. The second book has been written and is awaiting submission. It will be titled “As the Dust Settles.”

He has just started writing the third book, which is titled “The Day the Door Closed.”

Dedication

As for the dedication of Mongar’s book, it is dedicated to his cat named Pawblo, nicknamed Pawble Dawbles.

Mongar said he found a blind, orphaned kitten and helped nurse him back to health.

However, about a month after the “Gravel Dust” was finished, Pawblo got sick and died. Mongar said he thinks there was a greater purpose to finding the cat awhile ago because Pawblo kept him company while he wrote his book.

Mongar said he may have helped nurse Pawblo, but Pawblo provided support during his writing.

“He’d sit right on my shoulder and chew on my ear while I was writing,” Mongar said with a laugh.