Local author pens book about surviving trauma

Local author Cheryl Reich-Bills used her own life experiences to write a book about self-preservation and survival.

"Split" is Reich-Bills' first book in a trilogy that covers the lives of several girls' lives over a 60-year period.

Sidney has acted as a second home to Reich-Bills as her mother, Mary Ann Baack, and sister, Julie Gehrig, have lived in the community for more than 40 years.

Reich-Bills received a degree in social work from the University of Nebraska-Kearney, which helped fuel her passion for writing.

Inspired by the children she worked with as a social worker for the past 22...