Laurel's Dream

by Pepper Basham · 2021

Dreams are precious commodities in the Blue Ridge Mountains of 1918 and Laurel McAdams is attempting to make hers come true, but, sometimes, life in the mountains has a way of squandering dreams. As she attempts to avoid matrimony, she is secretly saving for her future with the sole purpose of becoming a teacher and bringing consistent education back to "her people". Having failed his British father again by being unable to fight in the Great War, Jonathan Taylor joins his uncle's missionary endeavors as a teacher in a two-room schoolhouse in Appalachia, but nothing prepares him for the rugged wilderness, narrow-minded natives, and...Laurel McAdams. Her joy and friendship prove a guiding light in the middle of his new responsibilities and tempt hsi timid heart toward a future her never expected.But when Jonathan's teaching methods lead to dangerous outcomes and Laurel's dream is threatened by an unexpected choice, will these two learn how to find hope and maybe even love beyond the heartache? Can Jonathan and Laurel create a new dream from the shattered pieces of the old ones or will bitterness and brokenness keep them apart?