Title: Her Daughter’s Dream
Author: Francine Rivers
Series: Marta’s Legacy, part 2
Major Themes: Family, Relationships, History
Synopsis: In this moving finale to a family saga, with unresolved tension and hidden sorrow from the past, Marta’s daughter and granddaughters must work through grief toward genuine forgiveness and love.
I read Her Mother’s Hope earlier this year, and although parts of the story weren’t my favorite, I did enjoy the family aspect of the book and the strong characters with relatable problems. After reading that, I knew I wanted to read Her Daughter’s Dream, as well. I knew I wouldn’t enjoy all of it, but I decided to risk the chance anyway and read it. I’m glad I did; as with the first book, there were elements of the story that didn’t have to be there, so that took down my enjoyment of the story as a whole, but in the end, I’m not sad I read the book.
Publisher’s description:
In the dramatic conclusion to the Marta’s Legacy series, the beloved author of Redeeming Love and The Masterpiece delivers a rich and deeply moving story about the silent sorrows that can tear a family apart and the grace and forgiveness that can heal even the deepest wounds.
Marta’s granddaughter, Carolyn, comes of age during the turbulent sixties, struggling to navigate a tense family life. Though college offers a taste of freedom, tragedy shatters her confidence and she disappears into the heady counterculture of San Francisco. When she reemerges, more lost than ever, she reluctantly turns to her family to help her rebuild a life for herself and her own daughter, May Flower Dawn.
But familiar tensions emerge when Dawn develops a closer bond with her grandmother than her own mother. As she seeks to avoid the mistakes of those who went before her, Dawn determines to become a bridge between the women in her family.
Her Daughter’s Dream is the emotional final chapter of an unforgettable saga about the sacrifices mothers make for their daughters and the very nature of unconditional love.
My thoughts:
Characters! This book is full of well-formulated, robust, relatable characters. From Marta to her great-granddaughter Dawn, each one is unique, with their own strengths and weaknesses. Then there’s the journey each one goes on…absolutely heartbreaking at times, and at other times, hope shows up in the most unexpected places.
Where this book excels is in showing what happens when we don’t listen to each other and make an effort to lean in. This is a multi-generational story, and for me, it highlights the need to respect and try to support others, rather than putting ourselves and our perceived needs first. That’s a big challenge!
Where I struggled with this book is the same thing I struggled with somewhat in the first book in the duology—I felt like there was far too much suggestive/sexual content in the book. The first book wasn’t as bad as this one. Here, descriptions went just slightly too far several times, and I did not appreciate that. Several of the instances were unavoidable for the story that was being told, and that’s a little more excusable in my mind (although even there, I still believe there shouldn’t be any description), but sometimes, it was downright unnecessary, and that really grated on me.
Overall? Her Daughter’s Dream was a good book; a powerful, moving story. But because of the element of the story that I really didn’t appreciate, I don’t feel like I can recommend this book. If I were to get my own copy of the book, I’d be tempted to try to edit it, but I don’t know if I want to read through it all again just to do that, either. From a historical perspective, I appreciate this story; getting a peek into the hippy culture, as you do here, was interesting. I also found the perspective on the late 80s and early 90s interesting. But while it was a good book, I doubt I’d ever want to read it again because of the content, and that’s disappointing.
WARNING: (NOTE: Adult content in these warnings.) “I swear” is used in ch. 3 and 40; “what in the blazes” is used in ch. 6; “for goodness’ sake” is used in ch. 8; swore is used in ch. 8, 9, 12, and 42; “heaven knows” is used in ch. 9 and 54; “for heaven’s sake” is used in ch. 10, 28, 36, 52, and 57; cursing and crap are used in ch. 16; “good Godfrey” is used in ch. 17; “heaven help me” is used in ch. 24; “oh, Lord” is used in a not-so-reverent way in ch. 29; drat is used in ch. 29; “jeez louise” is used in ch. 36; “thank goodness” is used in ch. 36 and 58; and “he would have raised holy hell” is used in ch. 57. There is lying in ch. 23 and 37.
Drinking and smoking are mentioned occasionally, and one character is a drunk for a while. Sex is mentioned in ch. 7, 9, 14, 26, 38, 40, 42 (“sleeping together”), and 57. Unmarried characters hug or hold hands in ch. 33, 34, 41, and 42; and kiss in ch. 20, 21, 34, 35 (a heated scene where they almost went too far), 36, 37, and 42 (some touching, too). Married characters kiss in ch. 47 (some description); there are other mentions, too, but none with descriptions.
In ch. 3 and 4, a child is physically abused and then raped by an older man. Chapter 9: Characters smoke pot. Chapter 10: A character mentions she slept with a man. Chapter 11: More smoking pot, getting drunk, man killed. Chapter 12: Mention of taking acid, smoking pot, getting drunk, someone commits suicide, a man is physically abusive. Chapter 13: Someone wants to commit suicide, woman sleeps with a stranger. Chapter 16: Mention of a man using a woman, pregnancy out of wedlock. Chapter 18: Mention of a woman’s milk coming in. Chapter 20: Woman thinks about sexual perversion she saw and experienced as a hippie. Chapter 21: Man talks about having children with his wife, with strong inferences toward sex; a bedroom scene (somewhat vague, but you know what happened). For quite a few chapters, starting around chapter 29, a teenage girl frequently thinks about a boy she likes. Chapter 32: Woman dies. Chapter 34: Woman wonders what it would be like to sleep with her boyfriend. Chapter 36: Unmarried characters have sex (some description). Chapter 37: Unmarried characters have sex several times (no description, but you know it’s happening). Chapter 38: Man dies. Chapter 44: Man encouraged to go into the military, woman unbuttons her husband’s shirt. Chapter 47: Woman almost bleeds to death with a miscarriage. Chapter 48: Baby stillborn. Chapter 49: Mention of characters “making love”, with a bit of description (this is also mentioned in ch. 50). Chapter 49: Woman tells of a friend who had an abortion. Chapter 56: Woman talks about being raped as a child, mention of finding a man long after he died. Chapter 57: Remembering hippie days: Being on drugs, sleeping around, a suicide. Chapter 58: Woman in labor. Epilogue: Woman dies, man badly injured, mention of a woman who was raped, got pregnant, and later committed suicide.
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Adults
Links to buy this book:
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