Dreamland

Dreamland (2022) is a contemporary romance novel by Nicholas Sparks. Its contrapuntal narrative alternates between the first-person perspective of Colby Mills, who is on vacation in Florida at the insistence of his sister and aunt, and the third-person perspective of Beverly, a mother who, with her young son, is fleeing an abusive relationship. Once an aspiring musician, Colby has been running his family’s farm since the sudden death of his uncle. While Colby is in Florida, playing music at a local beachfront bar and falling headlong in love with Morgan, a young vocalist planning her future career, Beverly is navigating anxiety and danger. As their stories unfold, their narratives converge in a surprising twist that explores the transformative power of art and love.

Nicholas Sparks is the author of 23 novels, 11 of which have been adapted for the screen, and two works of non-fiction. His first novel, The Notebook (1996), became a bestseller in its first week of publication, and each of his subsequent novels have been New York Times bestsellers.

This guide refers to the 2022 Random House Kindle edition.

Content Warning: The source text includes discussion of domestic violence and mental illness.

Plot Summary

As a child, 25 year-old farmer, Colby Mills, lost his mother to suicide. With no father in the picture, he and his older sister, Paige, were raised by their aunt and uncle who own a small family farm in North Carolina. After his uncle died unexpectedly of a heart attack, Colby stepped in to run the family farm. When the novel begins, he is on vacation in St. Petersburg, Florida, relaxing and playing music at Bobby T’s, a beachfront bar.

One day at the beach, he encounters Morgan Lee, a 21 year-old college graduate who studied to be a vocal performer. The daughter of affluent doctors, Morgan had every advantage growing up, but she also faced challenges after being diagnosed with scoliosis. She faced ridicule from her peers because of her medical condition, and her parents became overprotective. As a result, she strived to achieve as much independence as possible, dedicating herself to her studies in order to attend college a year ahead of her age group.

Colby eventually learns that Morgan sought him out after hearing him perform and loving his voice. She is in St. Petersburg with a group of friends from her TikTok dance group. Individually and together, they have multi-million followings on social media. The trip is their last vacation together before each moves on to the next phase of her life which, for Morgan, means moving to Nashville to pursue a music career. When she asks about Colby’s future, he insists that his family responsibilities make it impossible for him to make music anything other than an enjoyable hobby.

Over the next few days, Colby and Morgan spend more and more time together. They kayak together through mangroves, have a picnic on the beach, and work on music together. Morgan and her friends attend his sets at Bobby T’s in between rehearsals for their final dance recording session, and he joins them for meals. After a powerful storm that results in a blackout, Morgan stays over at Colby’s rental condominium, and the two profess their love for each other.

Each outing brings them closer as they share intimate details about their lives, though Colby is holding back something about his sister, whom he describes as a survivor and a talented designer of Tiffany-inspired lamps. Though Colby wishes he could have a future with Morgan, he does not believe this is possible because of his family responsibilities. Falling in love with Morgan has inspired him as a song writer and forced him to confront his work-life imbalance. He knows that whatever happens with Morgan, he will never be the same again.

Elsewhere, Beverly carefully plans her escape from Gary, her abusive husband who works for Homeland Security, bringing their young son, Tommie, with her. Donning a disguise, she and Tommie board a bus in a random direction, switching at different stations, and eventually hitching a ride to a random town. There, she rents a house that appears to have been abandoned in a hurry by its previous occupants, who she suspects are wanted by the police.

With little money and no identifying documents (she left them behind to prevent Gary from tracking her down), her situation becomes increasingly precarious and her anxiety spikes. Unable to eat or sleep, she tries cleaning out the house and repainting the walls to burn her nervous energy. After Tommie claims to have heard someone calling his name in the middle of the night and an unknown man in a pickup truck twice comes looking for her, she decides Gary must have tracked her down and decides it’s time to run again. She tries to prepare food for their departure but cuts a finger on one hand and badly burns the other. Her financial resources have dipped so low that running has become impossible.

Tommie fails to come home from school and she finds a pair of designer shoes—a gift from Gary that she left behind when she ran. Beverly realizes he must have found them. Despondent at the idea of Tommie being taken from her, she collects prescription drugs she found in the house, takes the pills, and lies down on Tommie’s bed, intending never to wake up.

In Florida, Colby dreads saying goodbye to Morgan, but she surprises him by inviting him to come to Nashville with her. For their final days together, he plans a catamaran outing with her friends and helps them record their last dance performance. While they are celebrating afterwards, he receives a call from Toby, the family farm’s general manager, who tells him that his Aunt Angie has had a stroke and is in the hospital. Angie’s condition combined with the fact that he has not heard from Paige sends up red flags, and he departs immediately for North Carolina.

As he speeds straight for home, Colby repeatedly tries to call Paige. He tracks her location using Find My Friends and discovers that her phone is at home, but his calls go directly to voicemail. Nurses at the hospital where Angie is a patient think they have seen Paige recently, but Toby has not, increasing Colby’s concern. When he arrives at home, the house is in shambles. The walls are in the process of being repainted. In the kitchen, burnt food is on the counter, and bloody band aids litter the bathroom. He knows what this means and rushes upstairs to find Paige unconscious and barely breathing.

He rushes her to the hospital himself, and they are able to save her. While Paige and Angie remain hospitalized, Morgan arrives unannounced to support Colby. She helps him clean the house and cooks dinner for him. Colby finally reveals the full truth about Paige. Taking Morgan to Paige’s barn studio, he tells her about his sister’s artistic talent, thriving business, and loyalty to her family. She also has bipolar I disorder, has tried to kill herself multiple times, and experiences episodes of psychosis—the first after Gary and Tommie were killed in a car accident. In the stress of Angie’s stroke, she forgot to keep up with her medications and experienced a psychotic episode. The narrative of “Beverly,” which is Paige’s middle name, is the narrative of the hallucinations and delusions she experienced during her most recent episode of psychosis.

Riddled with guilt that he was away when his family needed him, Colby cannot go to Nashville with Morgan; Angie needs him for the farm, and Paige needs his supportive presence. Though he loves Morgan, he sets her free to become the superstar he sees her as, believing that eventually she would have left him behind anyway. Angie and Paige both stabilize and eventually return home. In Morgan’s absence, Colby strives to make changes in his life, incorporating time with friends, playing music, and relaxing away from work. In Nashville, Morgan becomes an immediate sensation, leaving Colby feeling vindicated for having let her go. Though they initially remain in contact, their calls and texts diminish as Morgan becomes increasingly busy. One day while Colby works on his car, Morgan arrives in his driveway and announces that they are getting back together and will have a long-distance relationship. Colby realizes she has said exactly what he hoped she would say. The first thing Morgan wants to do during her visit, she tells Colby, is meet Paige.