Dream of Life

American Dreams #2

by Michael R. Phillips

With their beloved plantation, Greenwood, now a vital link in the Underground Railroad, Richmond and Carolyn Davidson must balance the need for safety with their commitment to helping the many runaways who appear at their door. Compounding their danger, the Davidson’s neighbors, the Beaumonts, do not approve of their decision—and view them with suspicion.

The danger intensifies when the Davidsons’ older son, Seth, becomes engaged to Veronica, the Beaumonts’ beautiful, scheming daughter—against her parents’ wishes. As the two families are swept up in events leading up to the Civil War, they must choose sides—in a conflict that will change their lives forever.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Civil War, Christian

656 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: there is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

Michael Phillips has been writing in the Christian marketplace for 30 years. All told, he has written, co-written, and edited some 110 books. Phillips and his wife live in the U.S., and make their second home in Scotland.

Reviews

[Melissa Corrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading historical fiction. Still baffled by slavery. I always enjoy reading about the underground railroad. Looking forward to the next book so I can find out what happens with Cherity and Seth.

[Debbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to quit this book. Interesting the author preaches not to create your own image of God without basing it on the Bible, but that is what he does. God is a God of justice and wrath against sin. His love is shown to us in that being a just God, He had to deal with sin. He dealt with sin by pouring His wrath against sin on His perfect son Jesus instead of on us, because He knew He would resurrect Jesus from the dead whereas humanity in our sin could not withstand God's wrath nor have the power to rise from the dead. To me that is love. When the author wrote God did not pour out His wrath on Jesus that's when I had to say I'm done. (Romans 5:9, Ephesians 5:6-10, 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, Romans 2:4-6, Romans 3:4-6, Romans 6:2-4 (this is love).

[Kelly Sickle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history in this book is very interesting and new. Make sure you need book one shortly before this book two, as they build on each other without duplicating anything in book two. The characters are so real and details really bring the very sad events to life.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it, Love the characters, love the history, love the spiritual lessons:) What a great read!!

[Joanne Compton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the only books I've never finished. But I'm sure many other people would enjoy it. He has wrote quite a few books!

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seth Davidson is caught in a conflict. Somehow, he found himself in a tanglement that was making him very uncomfortable. He wasn't entirely sure how he and Veronica, the girl next door, had become engaged, but he was becoming aware that Veronica was definitely not the woman he wanted to spend his life with. For one thing, she was a selfish and conceited girl, and another was that her family, the Beaumonts, were opposed to everything the Davidson stood for. The Davidsons had freed their slaves and were now helping runaways on their way to freedom. On the other hand, the Beaumonts were strongly supportive of the slavery system, so what the Davidsons were doing was extremely dangerous. Eventually, Seth broke off his engagement with Veronica. Unfortunately, that caused a lot of resentment in the community, and he faced a lot of persecution. For his own safety, and to protect his family, he moved north to spend time with his sister and later with the Waters, friends of the family. When the War Between the States broke out, things became more complicated for him.

Throughout this book is an undercurrent of mystery regarding a Cherokee man. It is accompanied by legends and the history and culture of the Cherokee people. The three people groups, the blacks, the whites, and the Indians, together formed an integral part of America's history.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were parts of this book that I just scanned, not really reading, that was only because I wasn’t sure of the bearing on the rest.
I like that the book shows the beginning of The Underground Railroad, President Lincoln’s election and the beginning of The Civil War! These were the true facts of the book, with some fiction thrown into it! This made for a very enjoyable book.

[nelson shinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book,

Great book for anyone interested in the history of our country. The dealings of the Cherokee has made me want to find out more about them I find his thoughts on religion and God also has given way to new thoughts.

[Patsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book in the series. Runaway slaves show up at the door of the Davidson,s home needing help. This is also a good book by a great author. I enjoyed all three books.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done second in the series book. Cannot wait to see how it all works out in the end.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than the other books since it included a lot of information about Cherokee history that I did not know prior to reading it.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

He's a good brother
Author. I need to remember that

[Kaethe Gallagher · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could’ve been so much better. 2 stars for the history lessons.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dream of Life is the continuation of the series American Dreams, volume 2. This story resumes the tale of the Davidson family and the many people their lives touch. It also incorporates the story of the Indians, during this time in history, in particular the Cherokee. The author’s wife Judy is 1/8 Cherokee which explains the interesting, unfamiliar story of the Cherokee included in this book.

[Barbara Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Phillips is an excellent writer and story teller. I love his way of weaving history into the lives of each character, however, this book jumped around so much I found it difficult to follow and frustrating to read on the Kindle. This was because the story jumped to long periods of history with little to no story line and continuation of characters. It was hard to continue for a portion near the end of the book due to the Indian history introducing so many new names and no understanding of how it was all going. Hope Book #3 ties it all together.