Review: A Life Once Dreamed by Rachel Fordham

 

Where you come from matters far less than where you're going

Six years ago, a shocking secret sent Agnes Pratt running in search of a new start. She found it in Penance, a rugged town of miners and lumberjacks in the Dakota Territory. In the shadow of the Black Hills, she became Miss Aggie, respected schoolteacher and confirmed old maid--despite being only twenty-four. But the past has a way of catching up with people.

When childhood friend and former sweetheart James Harris accepts a position as the town doctor, Aggie's pleasantly predictable days suddenly become anything but. James wants to know why Agnes left behind the life they had dreamed of creating for themselves--but he is precisely the one person who can never know.

Can a healing light be shed on the past? Or will the secret Agnes can't seem to outrun destroy her chance at happiness?

My Thoughts:

This is another gentle and sweet tale of true love and becoming who we are meant to be. From the very beginning Aggie has a secret that she is convinced that is the most horrible thing in the world that she leaves everything she knows to become a teacher out in the west. Even leaving the man she loves and whom she intended to marry, James. 

Six years later Aggie has settled into her life intent on staying a teacher for life. No marriage or family for her. Her students and their families will need to be enough. But James has never gotten over Aggie leaving with no good-bye or explanation. I so enjoyed his character. He has matured since last he and Aggie saw each other and now he is a doctor. Something he chose for himself against his parent's wishes. 

James has come to the town to not only be a doctor but also to regain Aggie and find out the answers that has so haunted him. James was a sweet man, who was often mischievous, but he had deep hurts. As I read the story and understood due to the times why Aggie left, I was very happy that James came for her. To woo her and show his love in spite of everything. I think he has become one of my favorite book heroes.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author:

Rachel Fordham is the author of The Hope of Azure Springs and Yours Truly, Thomas. She started writing when her children began begging her for stories at night. She'd pull a book from the shelf, but they'd insist she make one up. Finally, she paired her love of good stories with her love of writing and hasn't stopped since. She lives with her husband and children on an island in the state of Washington.