In 2002, Marthe Colvig Hildreth’s sister surprised her with an old family artifact: a letter to their grandmother, then 5 years old, from their great-aunt. That letter sparked the former Liverpool resident to spend the next decade compiling her memories into her first book.

“Bright Blessed Days: Slices of Life in America from 1895 to 1967” is a collection of old family photos, letters and Hildreth’s own reflections on life in Liverpool, Buffalo and Sarasota, Florida, where she now resides.

Hildreth said her grandchildren have grown up in “such a different time” than she did, and “Bright Blessed Days” is a way to give them a look into their grandmother’s childhood and beyond.

“I think they will probably not believe some of it. They won’t believe how calm some of our days were,” she said.

“I don’t think these kids have the fun we did,” Hildreth added. “They’re overbooked and overstressed.”

Hildreth’s book features her grandmother’s wedding gifts from 1906, her father’s letters to her mother during World War II and vignettes of their family vacations to the Adirondacks.

“The whole family was relaxed and together and doing everything we liked,” she said. “The nature [of the Adirondacks] is one of my favorite things.”

Not everything was rosy half a century ago, however. Hildreth’s book recalls air raid drills in school and other less pleasant aspects of life during the Cold War. She said the Liverpool of the 1950s was “isolated and insulated” and was not racially diverse, unlike Florida. She said prejudicial attitudes in the United States have improved somewhat since then.

She said she hopes her book encourages her readers and their families to “carve out more time for each other” in today’s busy world.

Although her family relocated from Liverpool to Florida when Hildreth’s father took a job there, she said she has fond memories of the village.

“I’ve always missed Liverpool and when I get up there to visit, I don’t want to leave,” she said.

Though “Bright Blessed Days” covers her life’s path from Buffalo to Florida, Hildreth said today’s Liverpudlians will recognize their community from pages in the book.

“I think they would be tickled to see how much is the same,” she said.

Hildreth, who has written essays about growing up in the 1950s, said “Bright Blessed Days” is her first — and probably last — full-length book, though she is thinking about writing a poetry book.

“Bright Blessed Days” will be released in December through Peppertree Press. Look for it at Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com. To learn more, visit facebook.com/BrightBlessedDaysBook.