Anyone who is interested in their family roots will want to join Emma as she traces her family's trek to America. The paints the picture of her mother and father in the early twentieth century as new arrivals establishing a homestead and settling into a new life. The story takes us back to the times before electricity and modern conveniences, providing the reader with insights into the life and times of Emma and her family. Joyful vignettes of these throwback, simpler days are intertwined with moments of inevitable human suffering, the trials and tribulations that were an ever-present part of their lives. The story relates the never-ending optimism and faith brought by these immigrants at the turn of the century and that which they passed on to their children and grandchildren. It is a shared story of endurance and persistence that is common with so many brave souls who willingly cut ties with their extended families and relationships to adventure to America and begin a new life. It is indeed a story common to many people even in the present. The need to escape war and abuse provides the reader with a close-up and genuine understanding of why every immigrant will take a risky path to an unknown future to get to a place that may offer a bit of peace and hope.