Dream of Life
“We have all been handed a photograph of ourselves standing in the midst of the world. But we don’t know very much about that world just from looking at the photograph. It is sometimes a confusing world. We just cannot make sense of it. We need to know more.” Volume 2 of the American Dream series, Dream of Life clearly and comprehensively presents what happens when economic and political pride prevails over basic Christian principles of love and justice. Yet as the Cherokee nation loses its homeland and native rights, graphically described, especially in the sections called “the Old Books – America,” it retains its ancient royal status, its honorable dignity. Hope in a higher authority in this story transcends the facts and opinions, since all else is subsumed in that faith. Southern secession and Northern union are endearingly and honestly presented within a Christian, Cherokee, and African-American framework that engages the reader through every pulsating page. Michael Phillips is a born storyteller crafting memorable, inspirational historical fiction in quite a pleasurable manner.
