Between Worlds 3: The First Step

Growing up is hard enough. Why does family make it harder?

Fourteen-year-old Juliana didn’t expect to be the one looking after her grandfather, who lives with Alzheimer’s. But with her parents always at work, she feels they barely have time for her, let alone Opa. Add studying for exams at her new school, and Juliana doesn’t know how she can focus on her grades while also caring for Opa on her own. Conflicted, she turns to the one thing that has helped her find solace since her move: her great-grandmother’s sketchbook…

Crotchety Omama has invited herself to stay with Elisabeth’s family. But when Omama insists Elisabeth hit her brother to enforce obedience, and Omama and Mammi believe it is time to introduce her to her first marriage prospect, Elisabeth must decide for herself what discipline and marriage look like according to God’s will, even if that differs from her family’s expectations. She is, after all, already fourteen. Isn’t that old enough?

With family responsibilities bearing down on Juliana and Elisabeth, the girls must learn to balance their needs with what their families and society expect of them.

The First Step is the third book in Lori Wolf-Heffner’s contemporary/historical series, Between Worlds. If you love history, the arts, and family ties, pick up a copy of The First Step and enjoy a story that spans generations.

Lori Wolf-Heffner is a former competitive dancer, dance teacher, and theatre manager. She was a member of the first Canadian National Tap Team, back in 1996, under the leadership of Bonnie Dyer, with choreographer Mathew Clark. She's written for Dance Canada Quarterly, just dance! magazine, and The Dance Current (all under Lori Straus).
Fluent in German, Lori lived in Germany for three years, never once realizing just how close she was to some of the villages her ancestors left to migrate to Eastern Europe in the 1700s.
Lori lives in Waterloo, Ontario, with her husband and two sons. She is a member of the Canadian Freelance Guild and the Writers' Union of Canada. Lori can still do cartwheels.