The Nickel Ring

The Nickel Ring is a compelling, true love story for all ages. Author Preston Ingalls shares an emotional tale that spans five decades and chronicles childhood sweethearts whose love was challenged by physical separation, parental objections and heartbreak that kept them apart for 20 years.

The romance begins with a simple childhood encounter—6-year-old Preston teaches his new neighbor, 3-year-old Cynthia, to swing. This early friendship blossomed into infatuation and eventually matured into a deep love that remained unbreakable despite trials and tribulations.
That same year, Preston gave Cynthia a ring he bought from a nickel bubble-gum machine. This token became a symbol of their enduring love, and the gift became a gesture that would be repeated time and again through their relationship.

Through the course of his journey into adulthood, Preston faced war and personal loss with one constant – his love for his childhood sweetheart, Cynthia. Tested by distance, their romance continued year after year, through Preston’s service in Vietnam and even a dramatic marriage proposal that ended in heartbreak.

Ingalls intertwines his own coming of age with the story of young love. From the innocence of the 1950s, through the turbulent ‘60s and beyond, the book describes the challenges of war, a close call with death and the parental objections that drove Preston and Cynthia apart. Readers share the couple’s emotional reunions and learn how their love endured despite the miles—and years-- that separated them.

Pull up a box of Kleenex and open a book that will tug at your heart.

Preston Ingalls is an accomplished writer and contributing editor to numerous publications. As an equipment reliability consultant, he has traveled to more than 30 countries. In The Nickel Ring, Ingalls shares a heartwarming story from his own life, based on his love affair and tenacious efforts to connect with his childhood soul mate, Cynthia.

Preston, grew up in the 50's with his parents and four younger sisters. He met Cynthia when she was only three years old. Her parents and siblings moved in next door to his and they became best friends. On one fateful day, the youthful Preston gave Cynthia a ring he bought from a Nickel Machine, not knowing how fateful that gift would be.

After dropping out of High School, Preston joined the Army at 17 and was sent to join the 173rd Airborne in Vietnam. During his 12 months in Vietnam, her letters got him through some of the most stressful and terrifying times. Daydreaming of the day he could run back into her arms kept him sane as the bullets and mortar fire ricocheted around him.

True Love is a testament of time and if that love is true and pure, no time or space can make it insurmountable. This is my story of the one true love of my life and how heartbreak eventually turned to everlasting love.