Thirteen years ago, when Alison Keller first saw her husband, Shawn, at a crowded bar in South Carolina (they began talking because she thought he smiled at her; he claims he was smiling at the blonde standing behind her), she knew instantly they'd be married one day. What Alison didn't know that night was that Shawn was part of the National Guard Reserve. During the early years of their marriage, all this meant was that Shawn would spend some weekends out of town, training or helping people affected by natural disasters. "It allowed me the opportunity to go out and see chick flicks," 37-year-old Keller says.

In 2000 the couple gave birth to a daughter, Sarah. Alison and her husband raised their baby girl in Charleston, South Carolina, where Shawn operated a custom cabinet-making company and she cohosted a morning radio show. Then, one day, when Sarah was four, Shawn received a phone call — it was Uncle Sam. The National Guard ordered him to the Middle East for one year to provide security for convoys traveling along dangerous, bomb-laden roads.

While Alison wasn't thrilled by the news, she realized she had to accept Shawn's imminent departure. "He didn't just join the National Guard to get money to pay for college," she says. "He did it because he's a principled guy, and that's one of the reasons I fell in love with him." Soon, Shawn was off fighting for his country, and Alison found herself raising Sarah alone — with a lot of help from her mom and dad, that is. "I worked early, so I'd carry Sarah — still sleeping — from her bed, put her into the car, drive her to my parents and then put her in their bed," Alison says. "She was a trouper."

At first Sarah didn't complain about her dad's sudden departure, either. "I could tell she was upset at times," Alison says, "but when I asked her if she wanted to talk about it, she'd just say no." But one day, Sarah came home from school and bluntly asked, "Is Daddy going to die?" (She later explained that a classmate had said, "Your dad's in Iraq. He's going to die.")

"What do you say to a child who asks you that?" Alison says. "I finally said, 'Daddy's in a dangerous place, but he's a smart guy and he's coming home.'" Not satisfied with how she handled the conversation, Alison went to a bookstore, looking for something that could help her explain the situation to Sarah. She was surprised to discover that there were no children's books specifically targeted toward military kids. So Alison, who had previously penned short stories and stage plays, began working on a children's book for Sarah and other youngsters like her. Within a few months' time, "While You Were Away, Daddy," was complete. The story and the accompanying illustrations follow a little girl as she comes up with a "mental letter" to her father, explaining how she's changed while he's been gone. For example, she tells him, "I've learned my letters one by one." In the middle of the book, the father explains to his daughter what he's doing overseas ("It's lonely here in the desert. Family memories are what I save."). The final third of the book is a journal in which the child can paste photos of Dad.

By the time Shawn returned home in September of 2005, safe and sound, Alison had hired a printer to make hundreds of hardback copies of the book, which she sells through her website, www.kellerfamilystories.com. When she heard about the Lifetime series "Army Wives," she sent a copy of her book to an old friend who happens to work on the show's set. "She gave my book to the prop department to put in the background on a bookshelf," Alison says. But an eagle-eyed producer spotted it, and the book will be featured during the season finale of the first season of "Army Wives."

This accomplishment is comforting to Alison as she deals with that fact that Shawn is scheduled to leave for another tour of duty in Iraq this September. (This time he will be working in the Civil Affairs unit, which helps Iraqi citizens to improve their communities.) Alison isn't letting his departure get her down: "Seeing my book on 'Army Wives,' just as Shawn is leaving for Iraq, will be the highlight of my life."