Perhaps not the best book for someone of my age to have read just after retiring, but so well done. I didn’t realize that this was the last book in a series, but it isn’t necessary to have read the earlier ones to appreciate this quiet but affecting novel. Emily Maxwell is 80 and has been widowed for some years; her children don’t live close by, and their lives are in some respects disappointing to her. She has become dependent upon her sister-in-law, Arlene, for transportation – and Arlene is a truly scary driver, all too familiar to those who have watched parents age. When Arlene suffers a stroke, right in the middle of the buffet line at a favorite restaurant (which they go to when they have a coupon), Emily is thrust back even more on her own company and thoughts. However, in another way, this leads to renewed independence for Emily. Memories of earlier life on the block where she lives, where families socialized and cared for one another, mingle with the present-day reality of attending the funerals of those who once lived there. Rufus, her aging dog and a wonderful character, is both a comfort and a concern. Life is obviously winding down, but this wise book shows that aging has its grace as well. 272 pp.
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