Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Only One Life

By: Ashley Farley
Narrated by: Sophie Amoss, Elizabeth Wiley
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.00

Buy for $20.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

A reunion between an estranged mother and daughter opens a world of secrets in a poignant novel by the bestselling author of Magnolia Nights.

Julia Martin grew up wealthy, but it wasn’t until she met her husband, Jack, that she knew true happiness. He made her feel worthy and loved. Their marriage was also an escape from her sister’s bullying, her father’s scrutiny, and her chilly and enigmatic mother. But when tragedy strikes on the night she gives birth, Julia’s happiness is shattered. She has no choice but to return home to her family’s South Carolina mansion, where the grief and guilt buried in her mother’s past await her.

As a young woman trapped in a bitter marriage, Julia’s mother, Iris, once needed her own means of escape. In Lily, she found a best friend. In the flower shop they opened, she discovered independence. Then came a transgression - unforgivable, unforgettable, and unresolved - that changed Iris’s life forever.

Now, in Iris’s most desperate hour, her only hope is to regain the trust of the daughter she loves - and to share the secrets of the heart that could rebuild a family’s broken bonds.

©2019 by Ashley Farley. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Only One Life

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    401
  • 4 Stars
    184
  • 3 Stars
    64
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    371
  • 4 Stars
    130
  • 3 Stars
    51
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    323
  • 4 Stars
    152
  • 3 Stars
    62
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    7

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Predictable

If you need a nice quiet cozy read, this is your book. Extremely predictable - I could doze off in places and not have to rewind.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

First time reading this author

Will definitely be looking for more books by Ashley Farley! A great story about a dysfunctional family, mistakes too long hidden, and reconciliation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Pretty good listen

I enjoyed the narrator. The story had deep subject matter but performed in a light and airy way. Southern charm I guess. Multiple tragedies and unraveling brings a mom and daughter back together.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Secrets

A prime example of the impact secrets can have on people. I loved the friendship between Iris and Lilly. I would have loved to have known more about Alex but was pleased with Julia's ending after all her tragic events.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful story

I laughed, I cried, I got angry and I was overwhelmed with joy!! Any book that can elicit that kind of emotion deserves 10 stars!! Well done, Ms. Farley, well done!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Only One Life

Unlike others’ reviews, I found this a real life, hard-knocks, yet always a hopeful story. Any less tough times, and it would fall under a fluffy read.

I do enjoy a happy ending, and this was that yet not unbelievable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Only One Life

As with.the.other books ive.read.by.this.author, I emjoyed this one immensely..She gives such depth to.her.characters.that one can't help but identify with them and.root for their happy ending.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Storyline is full of the ups and downs of living

Ms. Farley has delivered another beautifully developed storyline full of pain, forgiveness, redemption, healing and love.
The narrative is told from the mother's perspective, Iris, as a young woman in flashbacks in the beginning and then in the now. It's also told in one of the daughter's perspective, Julia, on the now setting and remembering back. Both women share a special connection. Unlike Iris other daughter, Alexandra, and her husband Max.
Their is also a best friend key to the story, Lily, and Lily's husband.
There is old Southern money versus coming from nothing/having no family pedigree. The many taboo topics covered in the storyline make it quite a book. I found it to be good plus worthwhile.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

a story of family secrets, with love and betrayal

this was a nicely told story about Iris and Julia's struggles and lives. Their lives were full of struggles, joys, and Love.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Mostly good read

I just didn’t like the actress who narrated Julius’s part. She was monotonous and depressing. Alex and Maxi’s characters were rather extreme. Mostly a good story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!