“Sometimes the longest journey home begins when you’ve lost everything.”

When fourteen-year-old Leo Stepanovich and his younger sister Anya lose their mother in the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, their world is shattered. Alone in New York City and with their father believed long dead, the siblings are sent to a crowded orphanage where an uncertain future awaits.
Their only hope comes aboard an Orphan Train headed west. Leaving behind the streets they know, Leo and Anya journey to Iowa, where children are displayed before strangers and chosen for new homes. Separated by circumstance and struggling to adapt, Leo finds himself on a farm under the care of a widowed farmer, while Anya is placed with a stern apothecary whose kindness is hidden beneath a hard exterior.
As they face hardship, prejudice, danger, and loneliness, brother and sister cling to the memories of the family they lost and the dream of being reunited. Along the way they discover unexpected friendships, hidden strengths, and the courage to build new lives from the ashes of tragedy.
Inspired by the true history of America’s Orphan Trains, Heartbreak to Heartland is a moving story of survival, hope, and the enduring bonds of family.

About the Author
Jim Burns grew up in rural Indiana and earned degrees from both Indiana State University (B.S., M.S., History) and Indiana University (M.L.S., Library Science). He spent nearly fifteen years in Iowa as a librarian for the blind and physically handicapped before working for three years as a reference librarian in southeast Florida, before returnig to Iowa as the research/copy editor for a company that produced baseball cards—focusing on the greats of baseball’s golden age (ca. 1900-1940)—and then again as a librarian. After ten years in the north country he succumbed once more to the southern sun and moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where he worked as a librarian until his retirement. Since then he has nurtrured his long-time love of writing and watched a number of his pieces, mostly poems, appear in print and/or online. While continuing to live with his wife and dog in Florida, these days he spends his time working on his poetry and a sequel to Heartbreak to Heartland.