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To claim her future, she’ll need to forget her past.

When Brenna’s abusive father dies, she seizes the opportunity to flee to Memory Ranch in hopes that the majestic horses and caring staff at the ranch can help her overcome a past filled with abuse and neglect.

But as she starts her new life, complete with a new identity, Brenna finds she can’t outrun her pain. Not even with the help of a charming local, who's faced his own demons and won. He wants to help Brenna conquer hers as well, but opening up to friendship--and possibly love--is the scariest thing she's had to face yet.

Will Brenna find the strength to move forward and forgive those in her past who turned a blind eye to her helplessness? And when at last she strips all the hurt away, will there be any part of her left?

Join Brenna and Liz at this healing Anchorage horse ranch in an unforgettable tale of new beginnings, second chances, and finding where you belong. Start reading THE STRONGEST LOVE today!

212 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 18, 2018

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About the author

Melissa Storm

164 books3,759 followers
Melissa Storm is a New York Times and multiple USA Today bestselling author of Women’s Fiction, Inspirational Romance, and Cozy Mysteries.

Despite an intense, lifelong desire to tell stories for a living, Melissa was “too pragmatic” to choose English as a major in college. Instead, she obtained her master’s degree in Sociology & Survey Methodology—then went straight back to slinging words a year after graduation anyway.

She loves books so much, in fact, that she married fellow author Falcon Storm. Between the two of them, there are always plenty of imaginative, awe-inspiring stories to share. Melissa and Falcon also run a number of book-related businesses together, including LitRing, Sweet Promise Press, Novel Publicity, Your Author Engine, and the Author Site.

When she's not reading, writing, or child-rearing, Melissa spends time relaxing at her home in the Michigan woods, where she is kept company by a seemingly unending quantity of dogs and two very demanding Maine Coon rescues. She also writes under the names of Molly Fitz and Mila Riggs.

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5 stars
872 (60%)
4 stars
410 (28%)
3 stars
122 (8%)
2 stars
19 (1%)
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8 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
Profile Image for Deanne Patterson.
2,573 reviews129 followers
January 11, 2019
Melissa Storm and Kay P. Dawson have teamed up in this, the second book in The Memory Ranch Romance series to write an unforgettable story. This is an emotional book dealing with abuse of a mother and daughter at the hands of the husband/father. After being abused both mentally and physically for years Brenna can no longer take it and escapes to Memory Ranch in beautiful Alaska because she can't forget. Meeting local Matt he helps her relax and start to forget her problems. He has battled his own demons and won so he can help her conquer her own if she will just find the strength to believe in herself. Beautiful story of strength,redemption,forgiveness,love and finding power in inner strength!
Published December 18th 2018 by Partridge & Pear Press
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you. All opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Isha Coleman.
9,846 reviews178 followers
December 19, 2018
Life was constantly seeking to tear her down. Can love help her rebuild the broken pieces? Memories of Healing is a spiritual experience. Storm and Dawson have compose an exercise in faith. Matt and Brenna are examples of what a little hope can bring about. LOVE! An inspirational gospel of the power love possesses.
Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews152 followers
Want to Read
June 17, 2019
🎁 FREE on Amazon today (6/17/2019)! 🎁
1,906 reviews37 followers
December 18, 2018
Healing from abuse is something that I would imagine is very, very difficult. Brenna suffered years of abuse and it has led her to Alaska and Memory Ranch as their new cook. She is hoping that being across the country from where she grew up will help her heal. She starts by getting a tattoo and meets Matt. The two hit it off and it's mutually beneficial. Matt helps Breanna so much, especially after she tells him about her abuse. There were a lot of ups and downs in this story and I appreciated that it showed how difficult the emotional journey is of one who has been abused. Brenna also finds out about the struggles that Matt has been through and it tests her trust level. A good story and one that I recommend. I have felt great compassion for those abused after reading this book. It is very uplifting and hopeful!
Profile Image for Elsbeth.
844 reviews
January 12, 2019
Brenna's memories are so awful, just reading them makes me sick. She came to the Memory Ranch, to forget. What she doesn't expect is to make some beautiful new memories. Thanks to Matt and the gentle horse Buddy. And these are the memories that help her heal.
Beautiful, intense and touching!
I received a copy and chose to review it.
Profile Image for Gerri  Johnson.
548 reviews2 followers
September 12, 2021
I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Brenna goes to Alaska to start over after years of abuse my her father and Matt is trying to get past his drug addiction. He shows her that love will find a way.
798 reviews9 followers
December 18, 2018
I have to say this book just holds your attention and leads to a one shot read.
Brenna Barry has lived a life of pain and yes in my eyes torture at the hands of her father. Not only physical abuse but mental. She leaves her home state of Florida and moves to Alaska to heal her heart and her mind. She needs to free herself from the ties that hold her in the past.
Matt Sanders comes into her life almost from the moment she arrives in Alaska at Memory Ranch. Memory Ranch is a healing place for Brenna and for many that pass through its doors. It is a place with therapists, horse rescue and also with caring owners who provide a work and therapy situation for troubled people.
Matt has a past of his own that he has worked through and dealt with. Brenna has to learn the basics to begin healing, The first being trust. Trust in those around her but most importantly trust in herself. Matt will work with her trying to earn her trust and bring out a courage she has deeply hidden in herself. Through the twists and turns of fate, things will come to a head. Brenna has to pull herself out of the past and look to the future in order to right things with so many people. Will she have the courage it takes to pull it all off? Book 2 in an incredible series. It can be read as a stand alone.
I received an ARC of this book and am choosing to leave an honest review.
Profile Image for Mary Lou Hoffman.
1,955 reviews32 followers
June 15, 2019
MEMORIES OF HEALING is the second book in the Memory Ranch series. Each will stand on its own, but I would recommend reading them all and in the order of release.

One of the hardest healings after abuse is trust. To trust anyone takes a giant leap of faith. Have you ever watched a skittish animal learn to trust the hand of a human? Yes, it’s like that. In fact, animals and people are brought together on the Memory Ranch. Animals often help with healing.

This story brings a feeling of lightness and hope. Matt’s patience as Brenna finds herself is inspirational. We all should remember that we don’t know another person’s journey, but our patience on any given day could make it just a bit easier. In fact, there were many emotions brought out as I read this story, but throughout I felt hope. I hoped Brenna and Matt would find a way to make their friendship work, to face the obstacles placed in front of her by the investigator, and to build her trust in her friends and her family.

I may hate the cold. I am a Florida girl after all, but I would love to visit Memory Ranch! I’m looking forward to reading MEMORIES OF HEAVEN.


Title: MEMORIES OF HEALING
Series: Memory Ranch #2
Category /Genre: Christian Romance
Recommended for: 16+ due to adult themes
Grammar/editing: B – a few small errors
Received from: Amazon purchase
Profile Image for Jasmyn.
1,605 reviews19 followers
July 10, 2020
Finding Her Faith by Melissa Storm introduces Brenna, an incredibly strong young woman. She's come to Memory Ranch to deal with her memories. But she's not trying to get them back. She'd love to forget them. She would like nothing better than to leave her past abuse behind her and never think of it again.

But we all know life and memories don't work that way. Brenna finds it impossible to trust again. Even when the handsome Matt goes out of his way to earn her trust. Matt also knows what it's like to try and forget your past.

However, when someone shows up investigating Brenna's past, she panics. Like full-on loses trust in everyone and feels like she has to take on the world by herself.

Finding Her Faith really showcases the power of trust, and how hard it can be to hold onto at times. Brenna and Matt have a bit of a road ahead of them, and Melissa Storm lays it out so I could travel right along with them.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
610 reviews5 followers
October 22, 2021
Worst book I've ever read

I can't say anything very good about this book. The author has the characters contradicting themselves. Take ,for instance, Matt hearing Brenna confess something. Immediately he says to himself he can't ever trust her because she must have lied to him. 2 paragraphs later he's touching her shoulder, then hugging her. Later she remembers something said by a man who is sleazy & will say anything, and she believes him instead of Matt. This is supposed to be a healing ranch, but noone ever mentioned the therapist she was supposedly seeing. In fact a doctor refers her to a therapist near the end of book. What happened to the therapist on the ranch? The characters just weren't real . Combine that with the author making so many obvious mistakes, the story was boring and frustrating. Hopefully someone will like it better than I did.
Profile Image for Kate.
721 reviews18 followers
December 30, 2018
Memories of Healing by Melissa Storm and Kay P. Dawson is the second book in the Memory Ranch Romance series. This book will have you feeling emotions that the characters are experiencing. It will also give you insight into what emotional scars that are left behind when someone lives through physical abuse. Brenna Barry is finally free of an abusive father in Florida and had started a new life in Alaska. She is on the road to healing. Can Matt help her? Can Brenna finally trust a man?

This is a wonderful story of healing and letting go. The story and characters are well developed. I highly recommend this story. This book was given to me as a gift and I always review every book that I read.
Profile Image for Elissa.
Author 39 books113 followers
February 25, 2019
Horse Therapy

This spinoff series from co-author Melissa Storm's other Alaska books reintroduces characters therefrom for an added sense of familiarity, if you've read any of the other tales, but each novel I've read stands on its own within the framework of a guest ranch set up for healing psychological wounds. There is some strong stuff here and topics dealt with that are seldom "easy." Characters have to heal themselves before they can become available to other people. But part of the healing process often involves sharing pain as well as help. There are potential triggers here but the positive therapeutic powers of horses are utilized in assisting Brenna move beyond the squirrel cage of her mind and open herself up to living and love.
Profile Image for Michelle Ferrari-Johnson.
1,560 reviews39 followers
June 3, 2019
Bad Love

I really can't get enough of this series. Your emotions run from left to right and up and down. These authors have chosen some of the most devastating feelings and completely capture them correctly and all encompassing.

Brenna has taken a job as the chef at Memory Ranch. She's also a guest patient desperately trying to put her entire abusive childhood behind her. So many feels and such power behind them will keep the reader going as we root for her achievements. After so many setbacks Brenna believes she is making progress until the insurance investigator shows up and destroys everything she has been working on. Will things come to a permanent halt or can her new friends get her through this huge obstacle?~
Profile Image for Tamra Delasalle Padgett.
380 reviews4 followers
December 19, 2018
Brenna has lived a life full of physical and mental abuse from the man she called her father but now that he has gone she knows that she must try to start healing. She takes off to Alaska to the one place she feels can help her get through this. Can this beautiful country side, the animals and the people be her saving grace to face her past and start a new life to become somewhat whole again. This series will have you reading until the last page appears, shed tears and then smile as hearts heals and show you that there are good people out there willing to help. Another beautiful story by an author and writer who puts her heart into every word she puts down.
Profile Image for Leslie  Bakke.
120 reviews
January 30, 2019
In Memories of Healing, the second book in the Memory Ranch Romances Series, Brenna Barry comes to Memory Ranch to get help overcoming memories of parental abuse. Writing a book that deals with abuse and keeps the reader invested in the story is hard to do. Especially, when that book is a romance. The authors, Melissa Storm and Kay P. Dawson did a fantastic job in writing this book. They created a story that showed the reader that a person can overcome the trauma of abuse and become the person that he/she was meant to be. The story was well written and very believable. Since this is a romance written by these authors, the story has a HEA ending.
Profile Image for Susan Shearer.
405 reviews2 followers
December 18, 2018
Memory Ranch is a place to heal from scars no one can see but the person feels, so is the case for Brenna Barry. In Memories of Healing by Melissa Storm and Kay P Dawson we learn to trust and that the most unlikely people can have hidden demons. Matt Sanders had his hidden demons but chose to look on positive side of life. Through a tattoo the two meet and form a friendship but challenges arise. Can Brenna trust Matt? Is Matt worthy to be trusted? This book shows us how people deal with situations that are beyond our control and how we can let go of them.
Profile Image for Nancy Garbe.
468 reviews8 followers
December 19, 2018
Authors Storm and Dawson have written a perfect love story in “Memories of Healing“. Brenna’s fears and anger that have grown from years of abuse are countered by Matt’s positive attitudes that he has adopted having come to terms with his own frailties and failures. When they are threatened by external evils the powers of faith, friends and love come to the rescue!

I received a free advanced copy of this book and am voluntarily providing my honest review. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in heartwarming romance. Warning: This book requires tissues!
1,873 reviews11 followers
December 27, 2018
I found this book a little slow in the beginning but the story built and by the end I just wanted Brenna and Matt to get their happy ending. Brenna suffered a lot of abuse from her father growing up and finds it hard to trust. Leaving her family and travelling to Alaska was meant to be a way for Brenna to find healing, but her past comes back to haunt her. Matt has made some mistakes but he has turned his life around and is on the right track now but can he get Brenna to trust him. There are a few misunderstandings and a lot of really sweet moments in this story.
327 reviews
December 30, 2018
What a beautiful emotional and uplifting story of how Brenna who grew up only knowing abused and neglect from her father. After he dies begins a new life at memory ranch as the cook and guest for healing. Brenna meets Matt a tattoo store owner and with his own dark past. Struggling with a relationship with Matt, Brenna own dark past shows up to haunt her.
I loved reading Memories of Healing by Melissa Storm & Kay P Dawson it is a sincere uplifting emotional story and I highly recommend reading it.
I received an ARC copy of this book and voluntarily reviewed it.
906 reviews13 followers
January 3, 2019
I am enjoying this collaboration of Melissa Storm and Kay P. Dawson on the Memory Ranch Romance Series. Memories of Healing is book 2 and tells the story of Brenna and Matt. Instead of remembering, they both have things in their pasts that they want to forget. Matt has come to terms with his past but Brenna still needs a lot of healing. Memory Ranch plays a large role in helping Brenna to heal with therapy and acceptance. A wonderful story, a wonderful location and a wonderful ending! I can't wait for the next book!
Profile Image for JoAnne.
1,989 reviews101 followers
January 21, 2019
Brenna's past was filled with pain and heartbreaking terror which as it unfolds will definitely pull at your heartstrings. Memory Ranch is a safe place that she seeks out to heal and deal with her issues; a place she is hoping will help her find peace and happiness. Finding some truly awesome and loving friends, a horse who has a heart of gold, and a man who wants to be there for her makes her journey a truly unique and inspiring story. I found myself totally immersed in her story.
1,792 reviews15 followers
December 19, 2018
This is a very well written story that focuses on child abuse and how it affects the child in later life. It was very well handled.

This is also a story about letting go of the past, overcoming fears, trusting another person and falling in love.

A great, moving story that I highly recommend.

I received an advance copy of this book for my honest review.
648 reviews6 followers
December 20, 2018
This is a story of physical and emotional abuse. It is done extremely well. The storyline is done so that even though abuse is talked about it is done with an interesting story about a woman working through it and trying to heal. While making some great friends along the way.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book and gave my honest opinion.
510 reviews7 followers
December 21, 2018
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily providing my honest review.
Brenna goes to the Memory Ranch as an employee/guest to try to forget her abusive past. After meeting Matt she starts to trust again until a stranger shows up and sends her spiraling down again. I enjoyed this book and recommend it.
Profile Image for Annette.
3,297 reviews9 followers
December 22, 2018
Very moving and gripping story. Full of heart with a soul deep plot dealing with real-life like scenarios that had my feelings all over the place it just seems so real. This couples' struggle to move on and rise above their past is a very emotional page-turner. Very well written. I am voluntarily reviewing a free copy.
Profile Image for Anne Blyth.
2,162 reviews1 follower
December 22, 2018
This series has captured my heart in the way it deals with such sensitive but traumatic issues that sadly affect so many lives. The characters become your friends and you can’t help but laugh and cry with them. Brenna and Matts story evolves as they learn about each other’s pasts, one due to lack of control and the other from poor choices. Definitely a must read.
Profile Image for Nati.
3,209 reviews18 followers
December 23, 2018
Brenna has come to Memory Ranch in Alaska all the way from Florida to forget about her past and heal her soul. Can she trust people, and specially men again after suffering from an abusing father and with a very dark secret to hide? Can Matt help her forget herself and be truly happy? A wonderful story.
Profile Image for Liberty.
423 reviews1 follower
December 24, 2018
I may have loved this story even more than Memories of Home and I can't wait for the next book in this series! Melissa Storm and Kay P. Dawson make an unstoppable team! This story covered all of the emotions and I couldn't put it down. Its a beautiful story of strength, love, faith and healing that's both engaging and realistic.
1,890 reviews8 followers
December 31, 2018
This was a well-written story. Brenna leaves her abusive past and starts a new life in Anchorage at the Memory Ranch. She meets Matt, who has faced demons and conquered them. He wants to help Brenna. They need to use the powers of faith and love to find the strength to move past the pain of the past and open up to trust. I would read other books by this author.
79 reviews
October 28, 2021
You can't really run from the past

For this genre, this was a thought provoking tale. Imperfect characters trying to put the past behind them and kick shame to the door.
I gave it 4 stars despite the incomplete editing job (these kind of mistakes drive me nuts) because the story held my interest.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews