A Life Once Dreamed by Rachel Fordham

A Life Once Dreamed by Rachel Fordham tells the story of Agnes Pratt, or Miss Aggie,  a school teacher in the small town of Penance, South Dakota. Miss Aggie ran to the Midwest from a secret she discovered about herself when she lived out East. Miss Aggie felt the secret would keep her former sweetheart James Harris from loving her or wanting her. Then James gets a job as a doctor in her little town after her dying mother reveals where Aggie is living. Is everything Miss Aggie thought true--would that secret really hinder their relationship?

As a whole, I enjoyed reading A Life Once Dreamed. I enjoyed Fordham's first two books so I was looking forward to this one. If I wasn't familiar with the author, I know I would have been drawn to the beautiful, rich cover design. I liked the people in the town of Penance. I did feel a little frustrated with Miss Aggie at times and how long she felt she had to keep her secret. I could understand why she felt she couldn't share it initially but she did make James jump through a lot of hoops to prove his love and devotion to her. At the same time, I thought Fordham did do a good job of showing how people can be judgemental when viewing circumstances and not taking into account the person. I would also add that I would have liked to have seen Miss Aggie pray more about her situation. There were a couple of references to faith but mostly I felt she and James were acting on their own judgment. I did especially like how she shed light on how people often did that in the past and can sometimes do it in today's society. I think that is the best takeaway for me--that we need to see people for who they are and who they can become and not judge them by a past they have no control over. I also liked the other fellow in Penance who wanted to court Miss Aggie--Sam. I hope we get to read Sam's story at some point in another book. If you like historical fiction, I would encourage you to read A Life Once Dreamed.

I received a copy of this book from the author and the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.