Her Daughter's Dream, by Francine Rivers

I just finished reading Her Daughter's Dream, by Francine Rivers, which as I am sure you are well aware, is the sequel to Her Mother's Hope (linked to my review - not Lisa's.) ;) Before I wrote this up I had to go read my review and refresh my thoughts and impressions on Book One. I've been wanting to read this sequel since it first came out but just got around to doing so. A friend of mine loaned me the book and I was determined to finish it before baby makes (made?) her appearance. Mission accomplished! I will say, however, that this is not really a book you want to read when you are pregnant with a baby girl. I had a bit of bad timing whereas this book is concerned.

Following on the tails of Her Mother's Hope, we follow the story of Hildemara, Marta's daughter. Hildemara is struggling to survive tuberculosis. She is unable to care for her own daughter and so Marta comes to live with Hildemara's family and wins the affections and attentions of her granddaughter, Hildemara's daughter, Carolyn. (Are you following?) Hildemara grows bitter over the fact that her mother is able to spend more time with her children and her family than she is. Because Carolyn was just a wee thing when her mother had tuberculosis, she was unable to be near her mother and is unable to understand why her mother doesn't want her nearby. Instead, she bonded with her grandmother (Marta) and Hildemara is insanely jealous of their connection.

Carolyn grows up thinking that her own mother doesn't love her as much as her grandmother does. She doesn't understand that her mother cannot be around her because of the disease and fear that she will pass it along to her children. A shy and quiet child by nature, Carolyn longs for affection and attention and unfortunately finds a false love at the hands of a dirty old man next door. As a result of the secret abuse she suffers, she separates herself even further from her parents, believing them to be inattentive and uncaring. This lands her in a heap o' trouble, and she ends up making a great many mistakes as she is growing up. Eventually Carolyn becomes a mother herself and gives birth to a daughter, May Flower Dawn.

The book then shifts gears again. First we spend time with Hildemara, then Carolyn, and lastly (May Flower) Dawn. The sins of the mother's continue to be passed down, with unspoken words and lack of affection being the rule instead of the exception. Each female has issues with her mother. Each daughter suffers insecurities, pain and distress as a result of not feeling affirmed by the woman she most wants to be in good fellowship with.

In short, this book was absolutely depressing.

Seriously, if this was my first Francine Rivers book - I probably would not have read another. After reading this book, I went and read Barbara H.'s thoughts on it which I had briefly skimmed when she first published her take on it. Barbara liked the book and found it to be a "wonderfully written epic story." On that point I absolutely agree. It IS well-written. It is epic. It equally draws you in and repulses you in a single breath. Honestly, I didn't want to finish reading it. It was definitely an intense look at the darker side of human relationships and was chalk full of pain, agony and hardship. At the same time, Rivers did such a fantastic job of setting the stage in Her Mother's Hope that I couldn't fathom not knowing the conclusion of these women's individual (and collective) stories.

There is a lot not to like in Her Daughter's Dream. Carolyn comes of age and is very experimental (in every way imaginable) during the 1960's. Think Woodstock, Free Love and the Vietnam War. It made my stomach turn. Dawn grows up as a teen in the 1980's who falls in love in high school and is subject to the pressures of teen romance. As Barbara points out in her review, all three women highlighted in this story are wrapped up in themselves and distrust one another and God's plan for their lives. It is a harsh, harsh story.

It is a brilliantly told harsh story.

I didn't like the subject matters because they made me feel uncomfortable. I didn't like how easily each woman seemed to fall into the trap of self-pity and bitterness. Yet those feelings are reality for so many. I know a great many people like stories which are not so neatly wrapped up. If you are one of those, you will have no qualms whatsoever with this book and will no doubt like it very much. I like my stories a bit cleaner in nature, I do have to confess it. I wouldn't perhaps mind so much the messiness of it all in another season of life, but with each woman's pregnancy and relationship with their daughter, I couldn't help but be disturbed - especially considering that I am expecting to birth a daughter of my own. It was a depressing book to read at the tail end of pregnancy when you really just don't want to be bothered so much with angst and just want to be relaxed and entertained. I was not relaxed. I was an engaged reader, to be sure, but not a relaxed one.

I can't not recommend it but if I were to suggest a Francine Rivers book to someone who had never read her stories before, I would not start with this series! I guess that is the only conclusion I can come to, at the present moment, for this particular read.

Have you read it? What did you think of it? Curious to know...