1983 A Prelude to Tragedy

by Michelle Manning

Lena never imagined the Army would be the place where her life finally opened—where grit met purpose, and where an unexpected love with Caleb began to rewrite the edges of her world. What they found together was rare, fierce, and quietly life-changing. But fate has its own, merciless timing. When everything shatters without warning, Lena is thrust into a kind of heartbreak no training could ever prepare her for.



Now, in the wake of an unthinkable loss, she faces a battle fought not with weapons, but with memory, resilience, and the fragile hope that refuses to die. As grief tests every corner of her spirit, Lena must learn how to carry both the love that shaped her and the loss that nearly broke her—and somehow find her way toward a life she never thought she’d have to imagine.

Kindle Edition

Expected publication December 31, 2025

About the author

Michelle Manning was born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles. After high school, she moved to Phoenix to enroll in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. She received her B.A. in Journalism in 2010 and worked as an entertainment news reporter in Los Angeles before relocating to New York City in 2013.