When Joe was born in the early 1900's, his life began with a tragedy. Two days after his birth, his mother died due to his abusive father. In her first book, The Elder, Jennifer Paul is driven by her grandmother Carrie to write about the challenges of everyday life in her family, all the way back to her grandfather Joe. Even after her grandmother's death, she is driven by dreams and voices so defined driving her to do so. The Elder is a charming, uplifting story that shows that any problems can turn to happiness in the end.