Dreaming In Color

The Story

From a veteran writer of women's fiction, whose loyal fans have already bought more than six million copies of her books, comes the moving and deeply satisfying story of three remarkable women - one physically abused, one depressed by age and infirmity, one temporarily derailed from life's purpose - who meet and are profoundly changed. When Bobby Salton runs away from her violently abusive husband, Joe, taking her six-year-old daughter, Penny, with her, she knows she is fleeing for her life but has no idea where she - or her life - is going. Her wish to see the ocean leads her to the Connecticut shore, and a help-wanted ad takes her to the home of Eva Rule and her aunt, Alma Ogilvie. Bobby bears both the mental and physical scars of her beatings, and Eva, independent and self-possessed, is both fascinated and repelled by the victim she sees before her. Ultimately, it is the ebullient, precocious Penny who gains them a place in the household by winning the heart of Alma, a stern but loving retired teacher who has been incapacitated by a stroke. The unexpected - and sometimes unwanted - emotions aroused by Bobby's entrance into the household haunt the women's dreams and private thoughts. But whereas Eva and Alma are stalked by the past, Bobby is pursued by fears of Joe, an unseen but ever-present danger. Penny, finally, is the catalyst who breaks down the barriers each of the three has built around herself, drawing all of them out with her ingenuous charm, allowing them to know and understand one another, and in the process to enrich themselves. As always, Charlotte Vale Allen writes about the differences - and the timeless similarities - among women and about the problems that haunttheir lives. In Dreaming In Color she provides not only an intriguing cast of characters and a thoroughly engrossing story, but also the hope that it is possible for every woman to take charge of her life and change it for the better.