DOWAGIAC — An unexpected encounter between Michelle Stambaugh and her former childhood friend, Donna Lee Gauntlett, is now adding a new addition to Dowagiac’s Under the Harvest Moon Festival.

Gauntlett, a Watervliet native, is a self-taught artist, art journalist, graphic designer and creative teacher. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 12., during Dowagiac’s Under the Harvest Moon Festival, Mud-Luscious, 206 S. Front St., will host Gauntlett for a book signing. She will sign her self-published memoir, “Unexpected Joys in Life’s Detours: A Storyteller’s Unplanned Journey.”

Stambaugh, the owner of Mud-Luscious, went to the same school as Gauntlett, but the pair lost touch after Gauntlett moved to Florida.

“We hadn’t seen each other since second grade,” Stambaugh said. “Then she walked into downtown Dowagiac and was shopping at Rosy Tomorrows.  She came into [Mud-Luscious], and I commented on her hair, which is amazing. We just started realizing we had connections in different places. Then it was like, ‘holy cow, I think you were in my class.’”

After the unexpected encounter, Gauntlett wrote about Dowagiac in her memoir and featured illustrations of Stambaugh’s pottery.

Gauntlett’s journey is centered around returning to her hometown to help take care of her elderly parents, who had a cottage on Paw-Paw Lake they did not want to give up.

Gauntlett came to Michigan and took care of her parents during six months of the year before they would return to Florida.

“It’s her journey of finding ‘pockets of happiness’ in a journey that she really did not want to take,” Stambaugh said. “She started looking into the history of her small town that she didn’t even know about. She started exploring little places all around her area’s communities.”

Stambaugh said Gauntlett drew and wrote about finding beauty in little things she came across along her journey.

During that journey, Gauntlett took a few classes at Mud-Luscious and got involved in some other activities in different towns.

Stambaugh said she was excited to host Gauntlett for a book signing and to help share her inspirational writing and storytelling with the community of Dowagiac. Gauntlett will still be in the area before she heads back to Florida with her parents.

Gauntlett will also be bringing along her creative coloring journals to be viewed alongside her self-published memoir.

Gauntlett, who calls her memoir “whimsically illustrated,” uses colorful illustrations as examples of how she sought out joy wherever the road led her.

“When you read it, I think the whimsy of the illustrations makes you smile,” Stambaugh said. “You are also probably going to find something in here that is history to you and your place in this area.”