When Gloria Stargel decided to compile her second - and likely last - book, she decided to tell each person's story from the heart.

She immersed herself in each character and spent months writing their inspirational tales in her book, "My Anchor Holds - The Difference Jesus Makes."

Some of the stories are from local residents whom she has known for years; others are from people she was told she needed to meet, like Col. Ben Purcell, whose life story was suggested to Stargel by a friend.

Purcell's story details his capture and five years spent in solitary confinement in Vietnam as a prisoner of war.

"I put it off for a long time because I thought interviewing a prisoner of war would be depressing ... and it was the nicest blessing," said Stargel, who has contributed to about 35 books. "Meeting these different (people) truly has been a blessing in my life. They all have something to offer; they each have a story, and each story wasn't done for a book but for the story at the time."

Stargel added, "They let me write their story; you are inside their head and their heart and everything else, and we become very close friends, actually."

Other stories in the book tell of local residents such as North Hall High School football coach Bob Christmas and Gene Beckstein, the founder of Good News at Noon.

Stargel read a story about Christmas and his family in The Times and said she thought he would be an interesting interview. At the time, she didn't know he and his son Robbie Christmas were members of Lakewood Baptist, where she attended.

"I went to talk to him, and he said he would be glad to share that story. ... (Bob Christmas) admits he was sort of mean, and that's where he got his lesson in grace," Stargel said. "I think this story is important to any parent to see what we do to our children."

The Christmas story is about the struggles of coaching your own children and serves as a reminder to parents to keep loving and supporting them through all things.

"I think if (parents) have ever coached their children, most of them will understand how difficult it is to coach their own children," said Christmas, who has coached his three sons. "If people haven't coached their children in a competitive sport, they might not understand."

Robbie Christmas, who is now in seminary and was formerly the youth minister at Lakewood, was the oldest and first of the Christmas boys who Bob Christmas coached.

Bob admitted that with his other sons he had a better understanding of coaching, like when his second-oldest son Michael Christmas played.

"I had a better understanding of the dynamics, but I still struggled," said Bob, whose son Michael graduated in 2003. "I always tried to be supportive to him. Matthew was a senior, played for us this year, and, ya know, it was a whole lot easier this time. I think age mellows you a little bit, too."

One of Stargel's favorite stories, she said, is the one of Gene Beckstein because of his desire to minister and help others.

"When I first heard about him (Beckstein) about 16 years ago is when he first started working with the underprivileged over there at Good News at Noon," Stargel said. "Beckstein's father was a part-time prize fighter and a full-time alcoholic."

But Beckstein - many people know him as "Mr. B" - said without his struggles in life he wouldn't be helping so many people today.

"My lunch room has about 20 awards that I got, but the people that come here, they don't care about the awards. They care how I treat them," said Beckstein, who originally is from Buffalo, N.Y. "I used to be homeless myself, and I understood about being homeless. You can give a home to the homeless, but you can't give hope to the hopeless."

Beckstein said Good News at Noon, a homeless shelter and ministry, "serves 40,000 meals a year for nothing. ... This year will probably be 50,000 meals."

Karen Peck doesn't serve food to the masses like Beckstein. Instead, she sings for them with her Christian music group, Karen Peck and New River. But as with most people, her life wasn't always filled with music tours and trips to the Grammy Awards. There was a time in her life when she struggled with whether she would ever find the right man to marry and have children with.

"She is a sweet, sweet person, and she is the same in her Christian life," Stargel said of Peck. "You get to know them, so you write as that person; and I am that person for a while."

Many of Peck's questions were answered when she met her now-husband, Ricky Gooch. They have been married for 20 years, and the couple have two children.

From Peck to Beckstein, Christmas and the many other people Stargel tells about, Stargel said she has received the biggest benefit of all by being inspired daily and growing stronger in her faith.