JJ Heller has spent the past 17 years reminding women that they are loved, they are not alone and that they can live life with a whole heart. 

"At some point in our lives, we all want someone to believe in us, to remind us there is beauty in the world, and to tell us that everything’s going to be ok," says Heller. "There is a child in all of us, and that's who I make music for."

2021 has been a busy year for JJ. She released two new records called I Dream of You (Vol. III) on February 5, and a reimagined version of her first lullaby album, I Dream of You (Vol. I) on May 7. She is now just getting set to release a new children's book, Hand to Hold.

"We started writing all of these lullabies and they started to gain more and more momentum over the years," JJ explains. "A couple of years ago, a publisher reached out to us and said hey, we love your song, Hand to Hold and we're wondering if you'd be interested in turning it into a children's book."

JJ and her husband, Dave, jumped on the opportunity and the book is now just over a month away from being released. 

"Hand to Hold is a blessing we wrote over our children," Dave explains. "The song was a little too short to be a full book, so we expanded the content to travel over a little bit more time."

"It's a really beautiful journey of a girl's experience with her mother throughout the course of the days, years and seasons as her mother is just encouraging her to never lose the wonder in her soul."

Hand to Hold is set to be released on July 20.

Today on Connections, JJ and Dave chat about the new children's book, the inspiration behind their music and what it's like to work together.