Elizabeth Zender

Independent Book Review

“A Life of Dreams is a book about fate and second chances, starring characters battling internal demons and doubts while trying to find the right path to walk.

These characters echo people we all know. They struggle with accepting themselves and with coming to terms with what life has dealt them. They don’t know what it means to look inward for change. Dunnevant’s writing is immersive and is hard to put down. The softhearted romance within the search for forgiveness is sweet in a way that feels genuine. Maybe love doesn’t conquer all, but it is worth fighting for.

This is a compelling narrative about the transformative nature of love, loss, and forgiveness. Naturally given gifts can take us far, but without the drive toward betterment, complacency digs our graves. Percy and Beth journey together in alternating perspectives, showing how low they’ve fallen and how high they can rise.”

D. Donovan

Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“In A Life of Dreams, Percy Hope’s newfound wealth has elevated him to a life of luxury and achievement that he never could have imagined. Nor could he envision losing it; but when his inheritance fades, so does the illusion of stability and success that came with it. Plagued by nightmares, Percy struggles with the aftermath of a suicide attempt, juggling various forms of success with requirements that both lend purpose to his life and test his resolve and relationships. Between gambling losses and infidelity to eventual divorce and devastation, Percy is left with only the dreams that haunt his psyche with new possibilities and deadly reflections. 

Doug Dunnevant traverses the topics of forgiveness, healing, and redemption. He portrays a middle-aged man whose objectives and approaches to life shift as money comes and goes, love ebbs and flows, and his sense of purpose is altered by death and renewal. Well-developed characters change Percy’s life in unexpected ways that are not all about success and failure, but the gray areas of perception and goals which lie in between . . . The result is a thought-provoking novel of discovery and recovery . . . Readers will welcome Percy and Beth’s realistic encounters, changing relationship, and the impact of wealth, poverty, and self-awareness on the choices each makes in life.”