All in One's Lifetime

All in One’s Lifetime is a true-life account that follows the author from the Old World to the New World. Born in the Netherlands in February 1940 – just three months before her country was invaded by Germany, some of Elsje’s earliest memories are of seeing her father rounded up to be sent to a German labour camp and her mother trying to pass food to Jews packed into trains on the way to Nazi concentration camps. But in these stark beginnings, Elsje learns to be a survivor and face new challenges such as immigrating to Canada with her husband and young baby.
From her early days in Toronto as an immigrant who can’t speak English to moving to Winnipeg and raising her family, Elsje shares the trials and tribulations of her interesting life – including losing her husband to cancer, finding love again, and learning to accept and even celebrate her adult son’s decision to live as a woman.