Eighteen year old Sadie Marsh is the product of divorced parents who were unable to keep their marriage together. The only "right" thing they have done together is Sadie, whom they love with all their heart and tend to over protective. John lives in Minnesota and Irene in California, whom has custodial rights of Sadie. Sadie has a new boyfriend, Ron Savage, but she hides this fact from her parents, fearing their interference .

When tragedy strikes Sadie, Irene and John are brought together again in supporting their beloved daughter. Not agreeing with Sadie's decisions, Irene and John must revisit their own past relationship and their present feelings for each other in order to completely support their daughter. Both John and Irene are faced with renewing their desires for the future and determining what went wrong in their marriage. The extreme bond between this small family is severely tested but brings them together through the love that they share and gives each of them renewed outlooks on life.

ONCE UPON A TIME, THERE WAS YOU is an emotional story that shares the inner most feelings of a mother and father who are totally devoted to their only child, in spite of their own failing at marriage. This is a true vision of what love and family ties can do. Irene is forced to evaluate her life as a child and how it has affected her own marriage and decisions. Elizabeth Berg is a very expressive author who, through her words, allows the reader to really "see" her characters.