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Women of Hope #6

Whispers from Yesterday

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1999 Hardback, A Crossings Book Club Edition (Christian Novel). 405 pp. A spellbinding Tapestry of Discovery, Deliverance, and Romance from Robin Lee Hatcher (Best-Selling author of The Forgotten Hour).

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

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About the author

Robin Lee Hatcher

124 books3,263 followers
Robin Lee Hatcher is the author of over 95 novels and novellas with more than five million copies of her books in print. She is known for her heartwarming and emotionally charged stories of faith, courage, and love. Her numerous awards include the RITA® Award, Christy Award, Carol Award, HOLT Medallion, National Reader’s Choice Award, and the Faith, Hope & Love Reader’s Choice Award, and she is also the recipient of prestigious Lifetime Achievement Awards from both American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America®. When not writing, she enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful Idaho outdoors, Bible art journaling, reading books that make her cry, watching romantic movies, and decorative planning. A mother and grandmother, Robin makes her home on the outskirts of Boise, sharing it with a demanding Papillon dog.

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5 stars
994 (62%)
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406 (25%)
3 stars
142 (8%)
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25 (1%)
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19 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews
Profile Image for Hannah.
2,908 reviews1,436 followers
February 8, 2020
Yet another reason to call Robin Lee Hatcher a favorite author. Her books are so emotional, so thoughtful, and so deeply portrayed. I think I could work on her backlist for a month straight and not get tired of these stories!
Profile Image for Jennifer Lara.
1,154 reviews4 followers
January 10, 2021
Whispers from Yesterday by Robin Lee Hatcher is a story of the stories of the past healing the present. As the story opens, Karen Butler opens her eyes in a hospital after a failed suicide attempt. She had lost everything when her father’s business ventures failed and he killed himself to hide from the fall out. She is urged to go to her estranged grandmother’s ranch in Idaho. There Sophia Taylor runs a youth summer camp for at risk boys. With the help of Dusty Stoddard, she hopes to help these young men from turning down the wrong path. The sudden appearance of Karen lifts Sophia’s hopes that she can redeem herself from her life’s regrets. At Sophia’s urging, Karen begins to read her great-aunt Esther’s diaries. Inside holds the secrets long buried. As Karen begins to learn the truth, can she finally find a purpose and a place to belong? Or will the truth chase her away once again?
Whispers from Yesterday is a story of the present mixed with the diary entries from the past. It is a story of salvation as Karen, who resists the calling of Jesus, as she sees herself as unworthy and unlovable, finds herself drawn to the one who loved her first. It is a heartbreaking story as well as a story of hope that we are not alone even in our darkest hours. Karen’s questions and resistances to salvation are the same that many of us face as we cannot conceive that Jesus loves them as they are and is ready to help them. I enjoyed each character as they are fully flawed and related. My only complement is that the ending was much too abrupt for me. There were a few plot lines that were left hanging as the story ends. Overall, I enjoyed the story and I recommend Whispers from Yesterday.

Whispers from Yesterday is available in paperback and eBook
2,288 reviews7 followers
November 27, 2021
I know I got this through Amazon Kindle when it was free. Not sure beyond that. I'm giving it 4 stars because of how much Scripture and Christian living is in the story. It's a sweet romance (clean) though the part of it that deals with the diaries kind of drops off and you have to infer what happened to Esther by reading between the lines of the last diary entries and a letter that Sophia gets.

Esther must have really loved Mikkel to travel all the way to Denmark with him at 18. I still wonder why they didn't try to escape Denmark either before Germany invaded or after Fritz passed away. Why did Esther not go to Sweden with her neighbors instead of just sending her daughter with them? Certainly she/they could have returned to the U.S. She was a U.S. citizen after all.

It's sad to see how close Esther and Sophia were and how that changed--apparently to the point where Sophia couldn't even show love to Maggie (Esther's daughter) as she should have.

We see how Sophia has changed. I can't remember if that change happened after she became a Christian or for some other reason. We see Dusty finally accept God's forgiveness and forgive himself--we also see him learning to turn things over to God and to wait on God's timing. Karen struggles with believing in God. I think it's a good thing the author shows Karen's struggle with this. Too often fiction glosses over becoming a believer and the struggle some go through prior to getting to that point. I also like that the author does make it a point to show that Jesus died for our sins. One friend has pointed out that many of the youth studies her church chose just assumed people would know why they were supposed to believe instead of leading the students through the steps of who Jesus was and what he did and why.
Profile Image for Robin Hatcher.
Author 124 books3,263 followers
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August 22, 2018
This novel won the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction (Romance category) and was a finalist for the RITA Award.

I love to write novels that have contemporary settings with historical threads as well. And I have a great fondness for using letters and diaries in those historical threads. Whispers From Yesterday includes diaries of a woman who lived before and during WWII, and what she wrote in her diaries and what she did in the war have a real impact on those who will read those diaries decades later.

I hope you enjoy this story, available once again to readers for the Kindle and Kindle app, as well as in audiobook format.
Profile Image for Joleen.
2,671 reviews1,225 followers
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April 6, 2025
3/20/24

My records show I purchased and read this Kindle book in 2012 but I have no recollection of it. I’ve sent it to my Kindle so I can read it again and give a proper review
249 reviews
March 29, 2020
What????

I would have given this book five stars except for the ending. It was like the story just stopped and came to an abrupt end. It felt like part of the story was still left to be told. For instance, once Karen finished all of Ester’s diaries, she was supposed to read a special last
page. I read through the whole story waiting for that last letter to be read. Having said that, I loved this book. Each character was perfectly described and relatable. I also loved the story. I didn’t want it to end. I think anyone reading this book will feel God’s presence in their own lives and be blessed with a new awareness of
His constant presence and love for us. That concept was interwoven throughout what was a genuinely good story. I highly recommend it.
Profile Image for Jeannette Harbottle.
741 reviews10 followers
September 5, 2025
For such a time as this!

So worth reading and so relevant for the times in which we live. This isn't just a novel or even a romance, it's a challenge to surrender everything to God.
190 reviews1 follower
January 2, 2021
I needed this book! In the uncertain times we are living in, the book with great characters and Scriptures remind us that God is with us. Emanuel! Loved the storyline, development of characters, and Scriptures. This author is definitely gifted.
Profile Image for Jan.
526 reviews
March 27, 2023
Robin Lee Hatcher is a Christian author who always delivers a good,inspirational story. This story about finding faith and redemption was a little slow at times but I really enjoyed it. The author touched on the work of the Danish resistance during WWII. The Danes saved more than 95% of their Jewish population during the German occupation.
Profile Image for Loretta.
383 reviews
September 15, 2025
This book weaves Esther's diary from the 1930's-1940's with current day which is pertinent to the story. Karen has shown up on her Grandmother's doorstep, penniless and homeless. She is hoping to inherit the farm but realizes it is not what she expected nor is her grandmother what she expected. This is a Christian novel with themes of forgiveness, waiting on God and changing lives. I enjoyed the story although it was fairly predictable with a few surprises along the way.
Profile Image for Rebekah Morris.
Author 119 books269 followers
June 15, 2020
2.5 stars

I’m not sure what I think of this book. In some ways I enjoyed it, but there were times I didn’t like it was well.

The back and forth between the old diaries and the main characters was confusing to me at first. It got a little better, but there were many times when I felt as though the action of the main story was cut off and I was stuck with a diary entry instead of the ending to a scene.
I never felt really attached to any of the characters, but I still enjoyed them. I liked that Karen didn’t stay the snob she started. Sophia was sweet, but I was left wondering why on earth she never told Maggie about Esther. It just didn’t make sense to me.
Dusty had me admiring his determination to not get engaged to someone not a Christian, and then he goes and asks her to marry him! What?
And Patty. I wanted to help her and love her, and yet she was just sort of left on the sidelines and I was wondering what was going to happen to her. Then some startling information was just dumped on me and I had to stop reading to try and process it because it was told as though I should already know about it.
I liked that the characters prayed, read their Bibles, went to church, and tried to honor the Lord in what they did, but at the same time their “witness” to Karen seemed lacking in some of the basics of Christianity–like sin.
The ending was not really an ending. I was left hanging in so many ways about so many things. Patty, Hal, Karen, Sophia, the ranch, the money.
Overall, I’m still confused on my opinion of this story. It was clean. There were a few kisses.
61 reviews
September 14, 2020
Whispers From Yesterday A Moving Story

This book is a story of the struggles of three generations of a Christian family. Ms Hatcher has such a way with words and incorporates the Scriptures in such an impactful way. I enjoyed the main characters. Karen’s struggle with accepting what Christ has done for her (and all that will receive
Him) in dying on the cross for her sins was very moving for me. There is a huge difference in a Christian’s life when they strive to live the word of God. Thanks one more time Ms Hatch for another moving story.
Profile Image for Devon.
305 reviews2 followers
September 8, 2020
Good

This wasn't my favorite Robin Lee Hatcher book, but it was still good nevertheless. I would recommend it. I wish some of the other characters in the story would have had the loose ends tied up a little more... instead, it ended abruptly, leaving me wondering about a couple people. Oh well!
89 reviews
October 30, 2020
The end of a princess

While most of us have only wondered what it is like to have plenty of money this story showed it does sometimes seem that people rely on it to do what comes more difficult for us. Fortunately Karen finds a place that has what she most needs.
41 reviews
November 7, 2020
Spell binding book

Love the way book shows how God's love can change a list soul into a warrior for Christ. And when we don't know how to get by another day Jesus is always by our side.
10 reviews1 follower
September 12, 2020
Story of Love across generations

Heartwarming story of a poor rich woman finding true Love. Settings of a ranch and Denmark during Wold War II make this an intriguing tale!
52 reviews1 follower
February 26, 2024
An inspirational Story

This book was well written and gives much insight into what can be accomplished by those that love the Lord.
Profile Image for Birgit.
1,339 reviews17 followers
July 5, 2020
After her attempted suicide fails, pampered and now pennyless Karen Butler seeks refuge with the grandmother she never knew existed, Sophia Taylor. Her ranch is led by Dusty, who had changed it into a camp for at-risk youths. Karen is determined to get away as soon as possible, but by and by finds that she is not the only one carrying a heavy burden. And then there are the diaries of Sophia's sister Esther...
An absolute brilliant story which will captivate the reader, Christian or non-Christian, right from the start, as it has all the elements a good story needs. For a non-Christian, the feeling to be hit over the head with numerous mentions of Jesus and Faith may distract a bit from the story, and even as a Christian I found the amount of quotes and re-inforcements that He will help and will always love you quite overwhelming, and in some parts that belief, that faith, appeared a bit naive. I do not say this as a criticism, I loved it, it was just something that crossed my mind.
On the whole, the only bad thing about this book was that it ended! I want to know what happensto Hal and Patty, and how Billy and the others are faring... for me, this book could have gone on and on.
I loved it.
636 reviews5 followers
July 12, 2022
I really loved this book. (I listened to the audio book.) I've enjoyed every book in this series, but this one really touched my heart. Esther's journals were so moving and woven into the story with skill. Sophia's past was sad and she wished she could go back and fix things with Esther and with Maggie. In the middle of this lands Karen; no money, no home, and at the ranch only because she has no where else to go. She has no intention of staying long term; just until she she gets back on her feet. But she will develop a loving relationship with her grandmother, Sophia, and a close friendship with Dusty, the cowboy who runs the place. Her life is a mess and she struggles with believing in God or trusting in Him for salvation.

All of the characters are skillfully created and lovable. I would like to see another book to follow Hal's story, Patty's life and more about the camp Dusty runs on the ranch.

Leonor Woodworth gives a wonderful performance as narrator. She has such a beautiful voice and the skill to make each character stand out. She never leaves the listener wondering who is talking.

I requested this audio book from the author and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
Profile Image for Sherida Stewart.
Author 2 books40 followers
October 7, 2025
What a wonderful story! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A beautiful romance unfolds between Karen and Dusty, two broken people who have felt unloved in the past. With a hidden secret revealed through old journals and the sorting through of complications from the past, there are challenges to overcome if they are to develop a true relationship.

I especially liked the strong faith elements expressed throughout the book since these truths are essential to the healing process. While reading, a mix of emotions filled my heart as the couple struggled with their feelings. With faithful strength developed over the years, grandmother Sophia comforted and encouraged both of them along the way. The resolution was deeply satisfying. Simply a wonderful story I highly recommend!

Favorite quote: I’m ready whenever You say, Lord. It’s been a good life, and You’ve blessed me in abundance.
42 reviews
May 16, 2023
Overall an enjoyable read. The most interesting part was reading Esther’s diary and I would’ve been happy if that was the whole book. Much of the story of Karen, Dusty and Patty didn’t hold a significant amount of interest. It seems also, that so much more of what occurred between Sophia and Maggie should have been revealed. It still doesn’t make much sense why Maggie despised Sophia so much or what Sophia did to make Maggie think she was so bitter and hateful. If Hatcher went into more depth, it’d not only be very intriguing but give a lot more understanding to the relationship and not cause me to still be left with those questions. I would’ve preferred that to much of the subplot with the boys
Profile Image for Kathleen Friesen.
Author 7 books40 followers
April 8, 2020
Whispers From Yesterday will draw you in, bring you to tears, and open your heart. This award-winning novel weaves threads from three generations and two countries into a beautiful tapestry. Old wounds, deep regrets, and thwarted dreams could unravel the design, but Sophia knows from experience that God can heal every broken heart. So she keeps praying, watching, and listening, while wishing she’d learned those lessons a generation earlier.
The diary entries by Sophia’s sister Esther not only reveal Sophia’s old heartbreak, they awakened an awareness in me that our current society bears a troubling resemblance to pre-war Europe. Our invading enemy is a virus, where theirs was a human army, but both symbolize danger and a real need for a true faith in a true God.
Whispers From Yesterday touched my heart and soul, spurring me on to a deeper faith in Jesus Christ. I award it five stars and highly recommend this book.
6 reviews
May 6, 2020
Excellent!!

I have always enjoyed Robin Lee Hatcher's books. The faith she shares from her characters has been of great benefit to me personally. The use of Biblical scripture is an added bonus, it helps bring the act of faith to reality, for both the story and for the reader. I would especially recommend this book to anyone searching for answers in this crazy hard driven life. Mz. Hatcher spares no punches when she states the only way to God is thru Jesus, His beloved Son. Praise to His Holy Name for authors who are determined to share salvation in a manner that is true and right.
284 reviews2 followers
March 30, 2020
What a treasure

This was a wonderful blending of two eras and the threads of connection between characters. Esther was an apt reflection of her namesake-so strong, yet humble. Sophia tugged strongly at my heart as she probably most accurately represents the struggle most of us experience as we contend with our own selfish desires only to discover that contentment is in Who and not what we possess. And Karen and Dusty—well, read the story and see for yourself! Highly recommended.
Profile Image for Robin.
Author 3 books28 followers
April 7, 2020
A Beautiful Story of Hope

I enjoyed reading this story, more about life and inner growth than romance. I found the characters believable and relatable. I loved how characters in the present learned from older characters, one of whom spoke only through diary entries. The story doesn't move very fast, but the writing and research is well done. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys inspirational stories, inspirational romance, sweet romance, and stories about growth and transformation.
1,715 reviews
May 24, 2020
A un-apologetically Christian novel about a young woman, Karen, who has lost everything and tried to take her own life. She is sent to live with her elderly maternal grandmother, Sophia, on a ranch in Idaho. Her mother has told her that Sophia was a horrible person but that is not what Karen finds when she gets there. It is a story of seeking and finding -- finding of one's self, one's true story, of love and forgiveness and the true source of that -- God. Some very lovable characters in Sophia and her ranch-hand, Dusty. No sex or profanity.
Profile Image for Barbara Thompson.
461 reviews12 followers
August 28, 2018
I enjoyed reading Whispers from Yesterday and very impressed it caught my attention from the beginning. The author wrote a well-written storyline that went back and forth from one era to another era. Also to me, it had a little mystery to the plot. I encourage you to read Whispers from Yesterday by Author Robin Lee Hatcher. It's a fabulous book!

I received a copy from the author, but was not required to review it. This review is one hundred percent my opinion.
140 reviews1 follower
Currently reading
March 31, 2020
Just Love Me

What an amazing book! Everyone should read this story. Part of this story setting is in a rundown farm. The other part us from a diary written in the 1939s and 1940s. The gospel and God's love and guidance are strongly presented to young boys, to Patty, and to Karen, as well as many biblical truths. I received a free copy of this book and have chosen on my own accord to write an honest review.
339 reviews
April 2, 2020
There is healing from the hurts of our past, there is unconditional love from a Father who sent His son to die for us. There is peace, joy, contentment in knowing Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Sometimes we are asked to give that which is dearest to us to follow the path that He has for us, but His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. God has a plan for us, we must trust Him, we must wait, we must obey, and we will truly be blessed because of it.
75 reviews1 follower
April 2, 2020
An Easy to Read Book That Inspires

I like Robin Lee Hatcher's books. They don't contain a lot of irrelevant information and this book has many Bible references throughout and are applied to all walks of life. Having the diary be part of the current story was unique and easily told two stories simultaneously. The only thing that threw me off was how quickly the book ended. I felt like I wanted one more chapter! She ended with my current favorite verse John 16:33
Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews

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