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    Once Upon a Day
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    Once Upon a Day
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    Once Upon a Day
    Audiobook11 hours

    Once Upon a Day

    Written by Lisa Tucker

    Narrated by Joyce Bean

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Dorothea's father, like all good parents, wanted to keep his children safe. But unlike other parents, Charles O'Brien believed the only way to do so was to leave everything behind, including his very successful life. In a rocky, desolate corner of New Mexico, on a thirty-five acre estate he called the "Sanctuary," Charles raised the children in complete isolation, with books and encyclopedias, records and a grand piano, but no television, computer, radio, or even a newspaper. Now, Dorothea, at twenty-three, is leaving this place for the first time, in search of her missing brother-and venturing into the world.

    Dorothea's search will turn into an odyssey of discovery, leading to the truth of her family's past and the terrifying day that changed her father forever. But Dorothea's journey will also introduce her to an unusual cast of characters, including a homeless girl from Missouri who becomes a jazz singer and a doctor turned cabdriver who has suffered his own losses. Together, they have a chance to make a discovery of a different kind: that though a heart can be broken by the tragic events of a day, a day can also bring a new chance at love and a deeper understanding of life's infinite possibilities.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateApr 11, 2006
    ISBN9781423310549
    Unavailable
    Once Upon a Day
    Author

    Lisa Tucker

    Lisa Tucker is the author of The Song Reader and Shout Down the Moon; she has also published short work in Seventeen, Pages, and The Oxford American. She has advanced degrees in English and math, and has taught creative writing at the Taos Conference and UCLA. Lisa lives in Pennsylvania and New Mexico with her husband and son.

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    Reviews for Once Upon a Day

    3.5/5

    163 ratings14 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      In dem Buch geht es um ein junges Mädchen, Dorothea, die als Kind gemeinsam mit ihrem Bruder von ihrem Vater entführt wurde und in der Isolation von Neu-Mexiko völlig abgeschieden aufwuchs.Mit 23 Jahren macht sie sich dann auf den Weg in die Stadt um ihren Bruder zu suchen, der auf der Suche nach der Familie ihrer Mutter verschwunden war. Sie trifft auf den Taxifahrer Stephen, in den sie ich verliebt und der ihr hilft.Das Buch ist wirklich schön. Die Personen sind trotz des unralistischen Settings sehr glaubwürdig und plastisch, man mag gar nicht mehr aufhören zu lesen. Nur das Ende ist ein bisschen zu "Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen", deshalb habe ich dann doch einen halben Punkt abgezogen.
    • 3/5
      I got really into this book and read it one sitting. The story moves along pretty well and it WOULD'VE been a good one for book club because there are parts in it that would annoy each person:-)


      Despite its faults, I still enjoyed it. There are a lot of miniscule things in it (quotations, things the mom does with the daughter, etc.) that are really cute.

      Things that were funny: Why anyone would choose to name someone Dorothea in a book is beyond me; When people describe what women are wearing at the time the book was written or set (chunky heels lol); The whole Stephen/Dorothea story; How Jimmy's character changes in terms of sanity; so many more things.


      I'd still be interested to know what the other MIADB members think of it.
    • 4/5
      My love affair with Lisa Tucker's writing style all began with a .99 Kindle book, Agoraphobics In Love. Tucker builds a story with the perfect pace all while the characters are dealing with a life changing event or events. Another characteristic of Tucker's writing is that there is more than one major story going at once but one assists in developing the other. The best way for me to describe it is that it is "simple complexity." We begin the story with Stephen Spaulding who comes across as a bitter angry cab driver. He's actually a doctor trying to deal with a tragic accident from the past that took to driving a cab to cope with the pain. One day he picks up a young lady from the bus station that looks like she just walked out of the 1950s and his life and her life is changed forever. Dorothea O'Brien and her brother Jimmy have lived a sheltered life to say the very least. They have never watched TV or been outside the home they share with their father Charles and his mother. The only connection they have to the outside world is a set of outdated encyclopedias and a few copies of old books, classics mainly, that their father allows them to have. Even though Charles is not a tyrant per se he has a controlling personality that he covers under the disguise if protecting Dorothea and Jimmy. Dorethea and Jimmy are told that their mother is dead but Charles and their grandmother know that this is far from the truth. Charles tell his children their mother's name is Helena when it is actually Lucy. Needless to say for over nineteen years Charles has been telling and living a lie to/with his children. I was immediately drawn into Once Upon a Day via Stephen Spaulding's story who stumbles upon Dorothea whose life was birthed from Charles and Lucy's story. These characters of Once Upon A Day are so rich and Tucker allows us to spend time with and get to know each one of them and yet doesn't overwhelm. Charles and Lucy are the foundation of this story and their's is a beautiful love story until tragedy strikes. They seem to be going on perfectly in their marriage. He is famous Oscar winning movie director. She was a orphan runaway that he fell in love with and made into an actress. They were wealthy with two beautiful children living in Hollywood. On what seemed like a "normal" day intruders broke into the Keenan (I know I said O'Brien earlier this is not a mistake--you have to read the book) home and their life and family began to fall apart. I bet you are wondering how Stephen Spaulding fits into this story. Well Tucker fits the disgruntled cab driver non-practicing doctor into the middle of this family beautifully. While helping Dorothea, who has never even seen a pickle or been to a Wal-Mart, find her brother Jimmy he falls in love again and helps to mend this broken family. As bad as I wanted to hate Charles there was this endearing loving side of him that you could not deny. I found myself thinking, "His intentions are good." My heart hurt for Lucy who I saw as this wounded, caged, defenseless spirit who found her peace by forgiving. There were many layers to this story but they unfolded beautifully with some rough edges.
    • 3/5
      A decent read, interesting story - well developed though stretches believability a little too much in small places - not enough to spoil the story though so worth picking up :)
    • 5/5
      I was so entranced by this book. Dorothea and her brother were raised by their father in remote New Mexico. Believing their mother dead, they are kept completely isolated from the real world and grew up believing in 50's values (think Blast from the Past or Leave it to Beaver). Jimmy (her brother) takes an exodus from the family and eventually stops contacting Dorothea. So, she takes her lack of knowledge and a lot of money and heads into the real world to find him.I just fell in love with this book: the characters are all so flawed and human, the plotline completely believable, I just couldn't put it down. What a talented author!
    • 5/5
      This book has instantly become one of my favorites. I love a book where you have no idea where its going to end, and how its going to work out, but you just have to keep reading. Charles is a filmmaker who moves his children to a "sancuary" where they aren't exposed to television, newspapers, paint due to the chemical. The children aren't allowed to be out in the sun, or even cook due to his obsessive fear that something might happen to them. His daughter, Dorothea seems to accept all of this as a sign of how much her father must love her, but her brother rebels against all rules and eventually leaves. Then as Charles falls ill, Dorothea sets out to find her brother in the modern world. The story continues to follow the story of Charles life, the children's mother and what drove Charles to take them away to this life of recluse. But as time twists throughout this story, love in a modern age is explored as Dorothea falls in love with the cab driver who picks her up in her search for her brother, and then twists back to regail the love story that her father and mother shared, you fall into a land of wonder of how all this happened and in the end what will become of them all.
    • 4/5
      After reading Lisa Tucker's recent A Cure For Modern Life, I promised I would make my life happier by reading more of her novels. And I did. Once Upon A Day was my next dip into her oeuvre.Dorothea and her brother Jimmy are the children of Charles O'Brien, and never, in Dorothea's memory, have they stepped one toe outside The Sanctuary, their beautiful, reclusive New Mexico home. Charles keeps them safe there, safe from everything from sunburns to corrupt pop culture. Finally Jimmy has had enough and he leaves; when he stops writing, Dorothea knows she has to go find him. But first she finds Stephen, a widowed cab driver who helps her navigate the scary new world she finds herself in; and then she finds that nothing - literally nothing, not even her own name - is quite as her father explained it.Just like A Cure For Modern Life, none of this is QUITE believable. But what the heck. Tucker is a wonderful storyteller, and I do love a writer who piles on the plot. Tons of plot in this one - a real Gothic, with scandalous family secrets, ambiguous villains, a pretty and innocent heroine, and a wounded hero. If I wanted real life, I'd read...um...non-fiction, I guess.
    • 3/5
      Stephen is trained as a doctor, but his life lost all meaning after the death of his wife and daughter in a terrible car accident. Although he doesn't have to work for a living, he bought a cab so that he has the excuse to drive all night. One of his fares is a young woman named Dorthea. Dorthea is leaving her home for the first time at the age of 23. Her father brought her brother and her to The Sanctuary "for their protection" when they were toddlers. Unfortunately, he thinks everything will hurt them (Dorthea is not allowed to cook because she might burn or cut herself; her brother is not allowed to paint because paints might be toxic, etc.). They are banned from doing much and never are allowed to leave the house. Her brother rebelled and left years ago, but Dorthea believed in her father and complied. Now her father is ill and asking for her brother, and Dorthea must venture into the world to find him.The premise is wonderful, and the characters are richly drawn. Ms. Tucker skillfully introduces each new character and gives him/her a distinctive voice to move the story along. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride she was taking us on until the very end, which I found to be quite disappointing.
    • 4/5
      This is quite an unusual book, but it's a real page turner. A famous man disappears, taking his two children with him, and 19 years later his daughter, Dorothea, leaves her home for the first time.Dorothea is looking for her missing brother, who has run away from home due to their father's oppressive influence over them. The chapters where she is in the big city, learning how the real world carries on, are lovely. She's so innocent and quaint that I couldn't help but smile.I liked the way the background to the disappearance was only fully revealed as the story went on, and it made for an interesting read because of that.This is a very easy read, but a bit of a change from the norm, and that's the reason I liked it so much.
    • 4/5
      I liked this book because it was defintely original. I liked all the characters and their own stories. However, I don't know if I liked the ending, I am still contemplating. It just ended so abruptly, we didn't really get a reason as to why the father took the kids away from the mother. I understood that she was a drug user. But he just up and left and never told her what happened.
    • 4/5
      Dorothea is 23 years old, and cannot remember a time when she'd been outside The Sanctuary, the home where her father had taken her and her brother into seclusion in New Mexico after her mother was killed when she was 4 yrs old. Having never met anyone other than their housekeeper and their doctor (who made house calls), she is a bit lost when she ventures outside to find her brother, who'd run away _ yrs before, in order to bring him back home, in the hopes that his presence will help their father, who'd grown ill. She meets a lonely doctor-turned-cab driver, and as they try to find her brother, she learns upsetting truths about her past and her parents. Very interesting, thought-provoking, and I liked the relationship between Dorothea and Stephen, the cab driver.
    • 5/5
      Very nicely written. Compelling story, interesting premise and characters. Ending left me scratching my head.
    • 5/5
      A woman raised in a tightly controlled environment ventures into society in search of her troubled brother; as a result she forms her first romantic relationship and discovers her family's shocking history.
    • 5/5
      Lisa Tucker has been one of my favorite authors. She wrote the Song Reader and Shout Down the Moon. In this book, she focuses on a family that has been torn apart by divorce, to the point where the father lies to his children about the status of their mother in order to protect tnem. I thought this book was heartwarming and contained just the right amount of character development.