A Life Once Dreamed

By Rachel Fordham

Book Overview

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, where she became Miss Aggie, respected schoolteacher and confirmed old maid. 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 the one person who can never know.

In the shadows of the Black Hills, can a healing light be shed on the past? Or will the secret Agnes can't seem to outrun destroy her chance at happiness?

Fan-favorite Rachel Fordham brings to life the dusty streets of an 1880s frontier town in this story that affirms where you come from matters far less than where you're going.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0800735390
• ISBN13: 9780800735395
• Release Date: August 2020
• Publisher: Fleming H. Revell Company
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A must read!

I’m not usually a fan of “second chance” romances, but I absolutely loved this book! The storyline was original (which has been hard to find lately) and the writing made it easy to get sucked into James and Aggie’s story, I couldn’t put the book down! If you’re on the fence about reading “A Life Once Dreamed” don’t be, because it’s is a must read!

The Black Hills of South Dakota hold more than just coal and miners. It holds a fresh start at love.

Agnes, or Aggie Pratt, fiercely loves her job as pioneer schoolmarm in the Black Hills of Penance, South Dakota. Her students both inspire her and challenge her day by day, with their endless questions, shenanigans and classic child's humor. Somedays it almost helps her forget the pain of her past, her old hometown, a broken romance, and the questions of yesteryear that never seem to have any answers. As the only child of aristocrats, she was raised in a rich and pompous community in Buffalo, New York, where position, wealth, and social reputation means everything. And love isn't allowed to cross financial classes, regardless of the hearts at stake. Even best friends. James Harris, a young doctor, is also seeking for answers to questions of the heart. Best friends since childhood, the two were absolutely inseparable until Aggie discovered a piece of her family history that she worries may break them both. And so she ran. But it's a small world after all, they find out. This book had a great plot line and an excellent variety of tangible characters. The only problem I truly had with this book is Aggie's roller coaster of emotions that seemed to go on for so long it became a bit exasperating to read. But the ending is well worth it. I received this book free from Revell for an honest review, and the opinions and thoughts expressed above are my own.

Beautiful Story!

She has done it again! A beautiful engaging story loss love..finding new love ...and hope for a better understanding along the way. I absolutely loved this story and could not put the book down. It grabs you right away and you hold on until the end. This book had it all...you were cheering at one point . Laughing at another and crying at another.