Family found.
Love tested.
Hope renewed.
In the untamed heart of Washington Territory, one family—bound by more than blood—must fight for their land, their faith, and each other.
A story of courage, forgiveness, and God’s redemption along the mighty Columbia River.
A Father’s Dream
Book 1 in the Columbia River Saga
A Father’s Dream — Christian Historical Romance set in the Pacific Northwest in 1883
- A determined Swedish immigrant chasing her father’s dream.
- A mountain guide who longs to disappear forever.
- A God who refuses to let either of them go.
A sweeping story of redemption, healing, and forgiveness along the mighty Columbia River.
A young Swedish immigrant determined to survive.
A mountain guide haunted by his past.
In 1883, in the Pacific Northwest, their lives collide in a faith-filled historical romance of courage, forgiveness, and second chances.
Johanna Amalia Nilsdotter Oman has left everything she knows behind. By crossing an ocean and a continent, she now faces the two-hundred-mile journey up the Columbia River into Washington Territory. Her father purchased land near Lyle with dreams of building a sawmill, and Johanna is determined that nothing—not distance, danger, or loneliness—will stop her from reaching their new home.
John is a man running from everything. Haunted by shame and regret, he has chosen the wilderness as his grave, determined to vanish into the mountains and die alone.
But before he can disappear, he accepts one final job: guiding a Swedish settler named Nils Oman into the rugged foothills above the Columbia River. The promised twenty dollars will buy him freedom—or so he believes.
But God has other plans. When Johanna’s path collides with John’s, both must face the truth they’ve been running from. In the shadow of towering evergreens and the roar of the Columbia, they will discover that even in the darkest wilderness, God’s love brings redemption, healing, and the courage to begin again.
Fans of Christian historical romance, frontier love stories, and faith-filled pioneer fiction will be swept away by this tender story of hope, forgiveness, and second chances in the wild beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
Some Reviews: A Father’s Dream☺️📚
This story completely swept me away. This was a beautiful story of a couple who both have had to deal with immense abuse and trauma in their lives. This story is filled with their tenacity for survival and the faith that they both relied on, when everything seemed to be falling apart and humanity showed its ugliness.
Johanna is a Swedish immigrant who has experienced way too much grief in her life. Now that her father is dead and her innocence stolen, she can only think to get to the land promised them all the way across the West into Washington state. But she is a lone young woman, who has already lost too much, how much more can be taken from her? So armed with her papers, her faith, and her resilience she makes the trek on her own hoping her lost brother will find his way to her.
When she reaches her destination, she must put all her trust in a man by the name of John, who himself is looked down upon as he is half Native American. These two start off on this perilous journey to fight against greed and evil all to find a home and a promise. Their journey is wrought with trials and tribulations, yet so, so rewarding in the end. I am so happy to have come across this new to me author that swept me up into Joanna and John’s world.
— Amy @ Pausefortales Blog
I fell in love with this book.
The story (a Swedish woman, all alone, goes to claim her father’s homestead in Oregon). And the characters: fascinated-with-life, faithful Johanna; and noble, strong (yes, and handsome) John, who bears not only the genetic mix of two peoples (his mother’s Patisapatisháma characteristics, as well as his trapper father’s) but the physical scars of abuse. Not only those protagonists but all the surrounding characters who comprise the book and the Oregon countryside were engaging and compelling.
Together, John and Johanna strive to make it to her family homestead on the Klickitat River before cruel men, who’re working for a logging company, can swipe it out from under her fingertips. On their journey, Johanna and John find common ground and maybe even more with each other. But can two such different people connect in the 1880s? Only the God whom Johanna clings to knows. But terrible danger is definitely ahead.
I highly, highly recommend this book to you. It’s a fascinating and well-researched piece of history, turned into a captivating historical novel with characters I could not get enough of. Don’t miss this!
–Wren @ FINCHNWREN Blog
A Journaled Love Story
Columbia River Saga Companion Novella: Book 1.5
He fought corruption. She fought for him.
Portland, Oregon Territory: a city of muddy streets, river noise, and the greed of men. But Stanley Hargreaves refuses to be one of them.
While corruption may thrive in the west and justice is often bought, he spends his days fighting for the forgotten—the tribes, the poor, and the children no one claims. Some call him a fool. Others call him a meddler. A few call him dangerous. But none of them know the truth. Because the strength that drives Stanley does not come from within himself. It comes from her.
Told through treasured letters and intimate journal entries, this companion novella to the Columbia River Saga reveals the private story behind the quiet philanthropist—the doubts he carries, the burdens he hides, and the woman whose faith anchors him when the world threatens to pull him under.
Before the west knew his name… she knew his heart.
A tender historical love story of faith, endurance, and the unseen power behind a good man.
An Echo of Courage
Book 2 in the Columbia River Saga
A wolf with an ancient memory.
A woman on the run.
A man learning to endure.
Their stories collide on the Columbia River in 1885.
But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
Job 12:7-10 NIV
Can courage rise in the midst of pain?
Hope endure when healing feels far away?
The Columbia River, 1885
After a devastating accident, Pauel Oman faces constant pain and an uncertain future. Once the dependable one, he now wonders if his life holds any meaning. Yet through his sister’s stubborn care, his best friend’s sharp humor, and the steady presence of a wolf named Essa—whose calm strength feels sent from above—light and hope begin to return. Pauel learns that courage is not found in grand heroics, but in the daily choice to believe again.
Far downriver in Mud Town, Penelope only dreams of a life beyond hardship. When a blue-eyed Swedish immigrant shows her a rare kindness, a fragile spark of faith awakens. But as the shadows of her past close in, she must flee upriver—sick and afraid, but never alone—guided by unexpected companions and a silent wolf with an ancient story leading her toward the man who already captured her heart.
When their paths collide on the wild banks of the Columbia River and Penny’s shadows are not far behind, will courage be enough to carry them through?
A faith-filled tale of healing, redemption, and enduring love along the mighty Columbia River.
Some reviews for AEOC 📖⭐💖
Echo of Courage is filled with faith and strength to endure hardships. Penny’s story captured me instantly! I love that Heidi is able to insert depth of culture alongside a depth of Truth that only comes from the Lord as she weaves together Pauel’s, Penny’s and Essa’s story through the wild PNW.
–Taryn
To Heidi’s credit as an author, as I read An Echo of Courage, I found myself experiencing life alongside the characters. The fear & courage, struggles & perseverance. As I neared the end of the story, it was bittersweet turning the last few pages. I had become so invested in the story that I wanted to know the outcome but had some trepidation turning the last few pages as I knew that meant saying “good-bye” to the characters. Ending the story & putting down the book meant, for me, leaving the characters behind. Great writing and wonderful approach to the history of the coming together in the NW the indigenous people and incoming migrants. Woven throughout, as well, is the presence of God in the lives of the various characters. Masterful!
–Jeff