AUBURN — A portion of sale proceeds from a new book on Maine by a Lewiston native will go to a group established in the wake of the Oct. 25, 2023, mass shooting to help Mainers struck by sudden tragedy.

Michael Menard’s book is titled “Maine and What It Means to Me,” and has an accompanying coloring book, suitable for children. He plans to donate 18% of the sale proceeds to the Maine Strong Memorial Foundation.

It’s a book about memories of Maine and growing up in Lewiston and Auburn in the 1970s, based on a poem that Menard wrote almost 30 years ago.

“I used to tell people this poem, and just say, OK, close your eyes and listen to the words I’m saying. What pictures come into your mind based on these verses that I have?” Menard said, before going into the poem: “Snowy night, Christmas lights, icy window panes. Memories of being a kid, growing up here in Maine.

“And it was a great, great time to grow up in Maine back in the ’70s and ’80s in this town,” he said. “It really was.”

Menard wrote the poem for a contest in Uncle Henry’s classified publication, where the prize was a house. Menard didn’t win the house, but always thought to himself he wanted to do more with the poem.

Eventually he moved from Lewiston and back again several times. He currently lives and works in Cincinnati, Ohio. When the mass shooting became national news, he said it shocked him.

“It was a gut punch,” said Menard, a 1985 graduate of Saint Dominic Academy. “I grew up here. This is my hometown. One of the last sentences in the book is, ‘No matter where I’ve traveled or have had the good fortune to roam, all roads will lead me back to Maine.'”

He decided to turn the poem into a short but poignant book that is heavy on illustrations.

“I knew Ron Morin,” Menard said, referring to one of the 18 victims killed in the mass shooting. “He was a great guy and I was trying to initially get the book out before the one-year anniversary — that just didn’t happen.”

The nonprofit Maine Strong Memorial Foundation was created soon after the shooting.

Two of the victims, Joe Walker and Ron Morin, were members of the Lewiston and Auburn softball community. A softball tournament organized in 2023 by the group to support the families of all 18 victims as well as survivors raised more than $207,000.

Today, the nonprofit Maine Strong Memorial Foundation raises money to provide temporary financial relief to Maine families who are touched by unexpected tragedy.

This year’s third annual softball tournament will be held Oct. 11-12.

Menard’s book and coloring book are available on Amazon or by contacting the author at [email protected]. The book is also available in Kindle format. Menard is considering making the book into a puzzle and possibly writing about the other states he’s lived in.