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Once Beyond a Time

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2015 Christy Award Winner

A troubled family, whose pastor father resigned in disgrace from a church in suburban Philadelphia, moves to an old house in Black Mountain, North Carolina. They soon discover that their new home, nearly hidden from view on the side of a mountain, is no ordinary place. The family can see and speak with people who appear and disappear seemingly at will. Some of the visitors seem to have lived there in the past. More mysteriously, some will live there in the future. Then, soon after their move into the old house, their eight-year-old son vanishes without a trace! Has he been kidnapped, or has he wandered off into the dark forest? How does the “house beyond time” provide the answers, some of them shocking?

“Brilliant! That's the writing of Ann Tatlock. Can I be like her when I grow up? Somewhere in time, I could be . . .” -Diane Huff Pitts, reader review

Foreign editions in the following languages: German (2016)

North Carolina fiction by North Carolina authors.

329 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 4, 2014

186 people are currently reading
847 people want to read

About the author

Ann Tatlock

33 books298 followers
Ann Tatlock is a novelist and children’s book author. Her books have received numerous awards, including the Christy Award, the Midwest Book Award and the Silver Angel Award for Excellence in Media. She also serves as managing editor of Heritage Beacon, the historical fiction imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She lives with her family in Western North Carolina.

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5 stars
354 (61%)
4 stars
144 (24%)
3 stars
70 (12%)
2 stars
5 (<1%)
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4 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
Profile Image for Sarah.
Author 16 books766 followers
January 11, 2015
Ann can be relied on for spotless writing, engaging characters, and solid story lines. This time, however, she's gone above and beyond! Once Beyond a Time considers how a family in turmoil might look from God's point of view--outside of time. Characters from different eras intersect and engage with one another as the story unfolds. Intriguing, mysterious, addictive! This book is a switch from Ann's usual stories and I LOVED it. Such a unique perspective on faith and the footprint we leave on the world. Definitely check this one out.
Profile Image for Sara.
203 reviews23 followers
June 10, 2016
Wow!!! What an amazing book!! I love Ann Tatlock's books and this one may be her best book yet. What if we could look through time, to see the past, present and future, and understand how things connect. To see beyond time, the way that God sees, the end from the beginning, the finished picture. I highly recommend this book.
Profile Image for Barbara.
844 reviews
April 2, 2015
I am a lover of time travel novels. This one has every other one I've ever read beat! The way the author bends and twists the plot over a period of years is amazing. My mouth is still hanging open by the ending. I don't feel cheated by a quick ending, either. The author brings everything to a close very satisfactorily then surprises you with a final ending that will keep you thinking about the book for quite a while. You don't want to miss this one.
Profile Image for Julia.
3,048 reviews92 followers
February 14, 2015
Once Beyond A Time by Ann Tatlock is one of those books that you just know is going to stay with you, long after the last page is read.
The story is told from four different viewpoints - Sheldon a former pastor, his wife Meg, daughter Linda and son Digger - the older son Carl is away in Vietnam. The story opens in 1968 when the family have moved to the Black Mountains, after Sheldon had an affair with his wife's cousin. The family is in complete turmoil, as Sheldon had to leave his job as pastor and they moved many miles south to where Meg's brother lives, who has given Sheldon a job selling used cars.
The family move into an old house and strange things begin to happen. events move between 1968 backwards to 1916, and forwards to 2005. It is as if all of time is linked within the house. The family do not understand it, but they have been told by an old lady that it is a 'gift'.
The novel is beautifully written in four different styles, depending on which character's viewpoint is being used. It is all realistically done, and I particularly liked Digger, with the style of writing of a young boy.
Once Beyond A Time goes much deeper than just a 'nice', entertaining story. It deals with several themes including that of faith. Things happen that do not always make sense, and that is where faith steps in. Sometimes life can seem hard, but the characters must have faith and hope to believe in what they cannot see, but they can feel within their hearts.
Forgiveness is another theme running throughout the novel. If it is withheld and not given out, then life can become very hard, bitter and isolating for all concerned. To refuse to forgive is to go against what God says. There is to be no choosing which sin is more worthy of forgiveness than any other - all sins must be forgiven. There can be no moving forward if a person is stuck in the past, harbouring unforgiveness in their heart.
The theme of love runs throughout the novel. Love can blossom in the most unexpected places. And there are different types of love, and some more subtle than others.
I really love Ann Tatlock as a writer. I find that whenever I read one of her books, it always stays with me, long after the last page is read. I was totally engrossed and fascinated with Once Beyond A Time. It was such an unusual story, but I just loved it, especially the way the three time periods co-existed. And also the feeling of great love that remained, even after the book had ended.
If you have never read a book by Ann Tatlock, may I suggest that you buy or download a copy of Once Beyond A time. It really is a beautiful book.
Profile Image for Loraine.
3,441 reviews
January 1, 2016
SUMMARY: It’s 1968, and Sheldon and Meg Crane have just moved their family from Pennsylvania to the small town of Black Mountain, NC. Sheldon, recently ousted from the ministry due to an illicit affair, takes a job as a used car salesman at his brother-in-law s auto dealership. Burdened by his wife’s unforgiveness and his daughter’s resentment over the move to “Barney Fife country”, Sheldon finds a measure of solace in his eight-year-old son’s ability to cope. After settling into an old house high on the side of a mountain, the family discovers their new home is no ordinary place. Family members occasionally see and speak with the home’s previous residents ⎯ and the ones who will live there in the future. While attempting to come to terms with this portal in the past and future, their son, Digger, suddenly disappears. Was he kidnapped or did Digger wander off into the mountains and become lost? The answer lies in a place once beyond a time ⎯ in a realm where the mysterious power of forgiveness removes sorrow and heals even the most egregious sins.

REVIEW: First, I have to say time travel genre/fantasy is not one of my favorite genres; so this may affect my review. The first approximately one-third of the book, I found quite boring and wondered if I was even going to finish this award winner. The storyline was slow and not very interesting and the characters were very one-dimensional. The daughter's continual whining and stereotypical 1960's personality drove me almost crazy. On the other hand, the last two thirds was amazing. I loved the storyline and thought it was well developed and all of the bits and pieces were tired together exquisitely. The characters were multi-dimensional and grew and changed as they interacted with the different characters each was tied to from different time periods. If it wasn't for the beginning I would have given this a 5, but I felt like it was almost written by two different people.

FAVORITE QUOTES: "We trust the one (God) who knows what we can't know."

"Later we'll know more. Until then, we either bow to God's sovereignty or we kick agains ythe goads. The latter, as you know, is always a hopeless endeavor."

"Everything God does is for the sake of love."

"The sure thing about time is that it always runs out."

"Forgiveness is the road between heaven and earth."

"I'm not sure we have the luxury of choosing. Choosing what" Which debts to forgive and which to demand payment on."

"I'm not going to try and weigh your wrong against mine. We were both wrong, and now we have to put it behind us and try to move forward."
Profile Image for Joleen.
2,649 reviews1,225 followers
January 27, 2017
If WOW were a good enough review, I'd leave it at that, because that sums up how I feel about this book. But I suppose I'll have to go into a bit of detail.
A family needs to move to another state to live with other family members because the father, (a pastor) in a moment of weakness, ended up sleeping with his wife's cousin. A new start was the only option to keep the family together and hope for reconciliation and healing.
The house they rent ends up to be a huge surprise. People go in and out of their lives as "visitors" in this house, which some would consider ghosts....until they realize the visitors from the future can't be ghosts.
There's an explanation for it which I won't give away, but suffice it to say, it's fascinating. The visitors have a purpose, although it's not evident for a very long time.
Let me say one thing... I've read a few Ann Tatlock's books before, and after this book, I believe she's my new favorite. No fluff or page fillers, no long explanations of scenery, or bugs and birds flitting about taking up paragraph space for no apparent reason. This was all wonderful. All of it relevant and all of it worth reading rather than skipping. I loved it. Kept me reading the whole day and into the night.
Now I'm off to the next Ann Tatlock book I started this morning, All the Way Home..so far its amazing!
Profile Image for Karen Wingate.
Author 9 books28 followers
January 10, 2017
There's something strange about the house Sheldon and Meg Crane have moved into at Black Mountain. Some have called it a gift, but to Meg and Shelton, whose lives have been shattered by Shelton's affair, see it as one more stress point they don't need.

Who says sci fi and inspirational can't mix? Ann Tatlock has done an incredible job of addressing the issue of time as seen from man's eyes and from God's point of view. I don't usually care for books written in the first person or in present tense but her writing is so good, I was swept into the story without even thinking of those two personal preferences. Considering the theme of the book, present tense was the only choice - it just shows the further artistry of this wonderful book.

Finally, I enjoyed a story where the romance happens between an already married couple trying to hold together and strengthen their marriage in spite of what life throws at it. We often think of romance stories as guy gets girl, girl finds Mr. Right. This book is as much about relationships as it is romance--it was the perfect blend.

I read a review before I read this book that said "Once Beyond A Time" was the best book she had read in a long time. I've been reading a lot of good books lately, but I think I would have to agree --this one is awesome!
Profile Image for Amanda.
Author 38 books990 followers
May 11, 2015
This was an extraordinary book in the true sense of the word -- definitely out of the ordinary in the way it challenges everything we know -- or think we know -- about time. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, because some readers may not be comfortable with that challenge, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Profile Image for Renee Abernathy.
98 reviews2 followers
February 7, 2017
Best

This is absolutely one of the best books I have ever read. I never could even come close to guessing what might happen next. Truly a fabulous book.
Profile Image for Joshua A. Johnston.
Author 14 books75 followers
March 19, 2017
Once Beyond a Time is a solid book, with well-developed characters and a nice premise, all wrapped around a well-paced plot. The characters all have unique voices, and the science fiction element adds to what was a good tale just on its own.

Nits are minor. One is, of all things, the back cover description, which is unusually long and, in my view, gives away more of the plot than it needs to. Another is the "big reveal" at the end, which wasn't concealed as well as it could have been -- this sort of takes some of the potential fun out of the endgame. Lastly, a couple of the faith-based discussions tilt a little preachy and even forced (a risk in any Christian fiction) but for the most part they're fairly organic parts of the story.

That all aside, this is a good story overall and is worth the read. Recommended.
Profile Image for Sherry Carter.
Author 1 book2 followers
February 4, 2019
No one can bring out the depth of the characters quite like Ann Tatlock. I've loved every one of her books and this one is no exception. By the time I'd finished the book, the characters had become like precious friends and I was sad to turn the last page.

The Crane family, devastated by infidelity, moves to an old house in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Soon, they learn that the house is free from time restrictions and people who lived there in the past and even in the future cross paths with the family. The Cranes slowly move from pain to healing to forgiveness when tragedy strikes - their young son is missing. The threads of healing and forgiveness run through this touching story.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves rich characters and an inspiring story.
1,447 reviews19 followers
June 23, 2023
Sheldon and Meg Crane move to Black Mountain, North Carolina to start a new life in 1968. Sheldon had an affair and resigned from a Pennsylvania ministry. Sheldon sells cars at his brother-in-laws car dealership, his wife hasn’t forgiven him for the affair, their oldest son is in Vietnam and his daughter Linda resents moving to Black Mountain. The only person that is happy with the move is his 8-year old son Digger until he disappears. The house has mysteries about it as there are events that occur from 1968 to 1916 to 2005 where the family can speak to the previous and future owners of the home. The answer might lie in another realm of the house where God’s forgiveness reigns. I really enjoyed this fantastic time travel Christian fantasy fiction novel.
Profile Image for L.F. Falconer.
Author 24 books78 followers
March 1, 2017

A wonderful read about family, forgiveness, and time. I can't recall who recommended this and it wasn't quite what I expected, but it's a book definitely worth reading. At first I found it hard to keep up with the different point-of-view characters, but kudos to the author for telling her story in this manner. It was highly effective and masterfully done. Tatlock's writing style is easy to read and powerful. I was drawn in more deeply the further I read until I became fully invested, and even though I was able to figure out some of the mysteries before they were revealed, it did nothing to diminish the story's effectiveness.
Profile Image for Dana.
Author 5 books11 followers
September 7, 2017
What a beautiful book. A work of art.

I loved the first person point of view with the main characters. It just makes you get to know them better.
The premise itself was intriguing, the storyline was interesting and I loved how everything tied up at the end.

And it definitely makes you wonder how much we know (or don't know) about the concept of time and what's possible.

I couldn't put this one down and finished reading it well into the night.
There aren't many fiction books I would consider reading again, but I can see myself picking this one back up sometime.
Profile Image for Jean Holtof.
426 reviews4 followers
March 8, 2019
A very well written and well told story playing with the concept of time. A house with a 'gift' that may or may not be a welcome gift. A family dealing with disillusionment, loss, abrupt dislocation and other issues that life throws at them. And then some strangers appearing in their 'new' house. Some wonderful characterizations that endear and frustrate and delight throughout the story to keep the reader glued to the pages. I highly recommend this story as I enjoyed it immensely and hope others do as well. Thank you Ann Tatlock for the many hours of reading pleasure.
2 reviews
February 13, 2018
Very emotional book!

Be prepared to ride an emotional roller coaster. I could not put this book down. It is well written book about love and forgiveness after betrayal. I had to have a box of tissues on hand while reading. The house this family move into is heaven sent. Strange things happen in that people appear from different times...some from the past and the future too. All, aid the family in healing their pain. A great read!!
49 reviews
July 3, 2019
Very Intriguing...

Unsure of where the story would go, it unfolds to cause wonder.
As a believer in Christ, scripture is clear about a oration of the assumed communication patterns. And yet, as Bart from Mercy Me says-ish: “Hey yonder me, what would I want my younger self to know?’
A thought provoker for sure..
Keep your eye on The Creator of Heaven and Earth, and ears always open to hear.
Amen.
Profile Image for Deborah K. Best.
11 reviews
January 30, 2018
Very Good

I loved the story from beginning to end. I read this book because I had read a book







I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I had read another book by this author and enjoyed it. To me, this book was filled with heart break, magic, fear and hope. A chance to ask ourselves, what if...

95 reviews
August 20, 2019
A Creative & Beautifully Written Story

This book was not what I expected. It is the first book I have read with all of humanity's pains & joys joined beautifully with Christian faith and the supernatural/paranormal.
I am still trying to absorb the fantastic creativity & talent of the writer. I totally recommend it to everyone to read
34 reviews
October 24, 2019
Loved it

I came across Ann Tatlock's books accidentally, looked at them all and was amazed they all had such high reviews, I knew I had to read one and see what all the excitement was as bout! I chose this book first and it quickly became hard to put down, so different and well, just a wonderful story! I loved it!
Profile Image for Cherie Saly.
63 reviews
July 24, 2020
Excellent story

I absolutely loved this story. The characters and events offer up a story of faith and forgiveness. The characters knit together s view of life’s purpose and a rare opportunity of understanding. I am anxious to read more from this author. This book grabbed me and pulled me into the story in the first few pages. Loved, loved, loved it.
11 reviews
July 26, 2020
This book was a joy to. Read. Things move in and out of time. It is delightful.

I chose 5 stars as the book is very well written and is unlike anything I have ever read before.. The book has points of history that can be thought provoking.

There is romance, and friendship. Faith and hope. Colorful characters.
Profile Image for Holly.
1,470 reviews10 followers
August 28, 2017
Excellent! Amazing twists and turns. It's a mystery and jigsaw puzzle where the pieces began to fit and make wonderful sense.

I audibly gasped at one point which resulted in me explaining the story to my husband. He was right, it would make a good movie.
1 review1 follower
August 30, 2017
Couldn't put it down!

I LOVED this book! It was so refreshingly different! It is the story of a family wounded by a moral failure of the husband/father and their journey to forgiveness and faith through some unexplained and strange happenings that occur in the house they move to. Is it ghosts or a miracle from God?
Profile Image for Allison.
Author 23 books111 followers
January 24, 2018
This book was amazing. I couldn't put it down. I have never read anything like it before. Each page I was wondering what would happen and was excited to see where it would go next. I really enjoyed reading this and telling all my friends about it.
Profile Image for Christine Dillon.
Author 21 books200 followers
June 28, 2018
4.5 stars
Very, very clever. A story that races by and is quite unique. Definitely speculative fiction but warm and interesting. Four, first person points-of-view but it works.
Plenty of good things to think through. Would be an excellent book to discuss.
19 reviews
August 15, 2018
Interesting story

I don't usually like time travel stories but this story is not about time travel but is about time, family and forgiveness . Very interesting story. I enjoyed it very much.
26 reviews1 follower
March 30, 2019
Excellent novel!

I could not put this book down! An amazing look at the past, present and future of a family, woven together beautifully. I hope to read more from this inspiring author who made her characters come to life for me! BRAVO!
Profile Image for Nita.
4 reviews
July 12, 2019
Wonderful read!

Wow! This book begins a little slowly. Stick with it because it is a wonderful, uplifting story! If you have ever questioned your faith and the meaning of things that occur in our lives, you will enjoy this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews

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