Music becomes a kind of recognition in Memory of Rivers, carrying one love story across three very different lives. Shelley Odendahl moves between a prehistoric cave, gold rush-era Deadwood, and Minnesota in 1972 as Diana begins to question whether her vivid dreams belong to an imagination—or to women she once was. Each lifetime pairs her with a man whose music awakens a familiar connection: Lor and his flute, Sam and his harmonica, and finally singer-songwriter Eric. Rather than treating the past lives as distant episodes, the novel brings their memories into Diana’s present, where she must decide what they mean for the relationship unfolding in front of her.
A Past Life Love Story
Time Travel Romance
Date Published: 09-09-2019
Publisher: Flyway Press LLC
Vivid sensations and images from Diana’s dreams stream into her conscious mind. Are the dreams memories of her past lives?
As Kari, in prehistoric times, she dances in a coming-of-age ceremony in an ancient cave, with wild animals painted on the walls. Captivated by flute player, Lor, they promise to love each other forever, but dangers threaten their plans.
As Rachel, isolated in gold rush era Deadwood, she is mistreated by her drinking, gambling husband but finds comfort with Civil War veteran Sam. His harmonica music enchants Rachel as they draw together to soothe their lonely souls.
Now, in her life in 1972 Minnesota, Diana is drawn to singer-songwriter Eric. His songs and her memories, along with a deep longing for love, connects her soul with his. Is he the man from her dreams? Will they find happiness together at last?
“In an age of brief encounters and ‘friends with benefits,’ lasting love is a rare commodity. But you’ll find it here in Shelley Odendahl’s Memory of Rivers. Enjoy.” – Faith Sullivan, author of nine novels including the latest, Ruby and Roland.
Three settings separated by thousands of years allow Memory of Rivers to approach its love story through recognition rather than a conventional first meeting. Kari knows Lor in prehistoric times, Rachel finds Sam in gold rush-era Deadwood, and Diana encounters Eric in 1972 Minnesota. The names and circumstances change, but music repeatedly draws the pair toward one another, creating a thread Diana can hear and feel even before she fully understands what her dreams are telling her.
The different periods also change what stands between the couple. Kari and Lor face the dangers of their prehistoric world; Rachel’s marriage to a drinking, gambling husband complicates her bond with Civil War veteran Sam; and Diana must make sense of memories that suggest her connection with Eric began long before either of them entered their present lives. That structure lets the question of lasting love play out under three very different sets of circumstances.
Rivers and music are particularly meaningful recurring elements. Odendahl has written about her lifelong connection to rivers and described them as a metaphor for life, while the novel uses music to link its lovers across time. Those recurring images suit a story concerned with what continues, what changes, and what might find its way back to us.
As Eric continued to sing, I stared into his soul. Somehow then, I knew for certain that he was the man I loved, since my earliest memories, since pre-history. We met in a cave, and I danced to his music. Immersed in the past, I felt the dense smokiness of the cave’s enclosed space as the flute player captured my body and spirit. We were alone. Together.
With a slight shake of my head, I pulled myself back to the present, into the enclosed space of a bar, where the smoke of cigarettes hung in the air. My face and neck had grown prickly and hot, as if a mild electrical charge played on the surface of my skin. I focused on Eric, every bit of him, especially his eyes. I inhaled a quick breath when he stared back at me, as if my spirit had summoned his. Still singing, his voice was sensuous, velvet, as it caressed my body and settled into my being.
If, from the other we are ever lost,
Draw me in with your force of life
Somewhere inside, the truth resides,
My elusive woman of the wilds.
Our fates are entwined now and forever,
My dancer, my muse, my river nymph,
My elusive woman of the wilds.
His voice quietly held the last note of the song, as his fingers picked the final chord. We maintained eye contact, sharing a moment that began with our encounter at the cave ceremony, and traveled the spectrum of time and place, bringing our emotions into the present. Right now. We were seeing all of each other without ever before having met in this lifetime.
Eric broke eye contact and looked down at his guitar.
“I’ll be back in fifteen minutes,” he told the crowd, as he put the guitar in its rack and stood up. He made his way toward the people at his table up front and sat down with them.
My hands trembled as I dug in my purse for a tissue, using it to dab my tear-filled eyes. What had just happened here? My heart over-flowed, incredulous that I had met my love. I still didn’t know what it all meant to my life today. Would he remember me, from our lives so long ago? What if he didn’t?
This is one to consider for readers intrigued by reincarnation romances in which the relationships between past and present matter as much as the romance itself. The movement from prehistoric life to Deadwood and then 1972 Minnesota should also appeal to those who like a story that changes historical settings while retaining the same emotional connection between its principal characters.
There is another natural audience among readers who respond strongly to music, dreams, and recurring imagery in fiction. Lor’s flute, Sam’s harmonica, and Eric’s songs are not incidental details; music accompanies the lovers in each lifetime. Readers interested in stories about memory and the possibility that certain attachments survive beyond a single lifetime will find plenty here to contemplate.
Shelley Odendahl is the author of Serendipity and Other Travel Adventures – stories that cover forty years of touring the world with her husband Cliff.
This book brings readers along as they travel across the USA by motorcycle, and to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Bali, and Patagonia, experiencing breathtaking highs, and lows that challenged the couple to create solutions along the way.
Shelley also wrote an inspirational book, Realize Your Dreams – Create an Action Plan for Life Transformation, and a time travel novel: Memory of Rivers – A Past Life Love Story.
She lives in Minnesota, USA, with her husband Cliff, where 10,000+ lakes, scenic rivers, majestic white pines, wildflowers, swans, and eagles nurture her spirit.
Her passions are traveling and writing about traveling, creating watercolors, appreciating art of all kinds, and baking her own Sourdough bread from a starter she created over 5 years ago. She enjoys hiking in National Parks, going to musical performances, and being on a lake in a boat.
Shelley is happiest when in the company of her husband, family and friends, with perhaps some food and wine involved.
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The most intriguing question in Memory of Rivers may not be whether Diana has lived before, but what she will do with the possibility that she has finally encountered the same love again. Kari, Rachel, and Diana inhabit very different worlds, yet music, longing, and memory keep drawing their stories toward one another. Odendahl’s use of rivers alongside that recurring musical connection feels particularly fitting for a novel about lives that change course without entirely losing what came before. For readers willing to entertain the possibility of love carrying its own memory, Diana and Eric’s meeting has centuries behind it.
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