Yes, the heroine of The Things We Keep, Anna, is a 38-year-old woman with Alzheimer's disease who is confined to an assisted-living facility. But no, Australian writer Sally Hepworth's second novel is not depressing, and while her narrative can be sad and even painful at times, it is never bleak. On the contrary, the story of Anna and her "boyfriend" at Rosalind House, fellow patient Luke, is tragic but also hopeful, positive and even romantic.

Anna and Luke's relationship may be the heart of the novel, but its peripheral characters are equally compelling. First among these is Eve, a young mother who lost her identity after her husband's precipitous fall from grace and reinvents herself as the cook at the assisted-living facility. Hepworth's depiction of Eve's spirited daughter, Clem, is also heartrending, as are her portrayals of the eclectic contingent of residents at Rosalind House.

Hepworth's debut, The Secrets of Midwives, was critically acclaimed, and it's always a formidable task to impress readers with a second novel. But with The Things We Keep, Hepworth proves that literary lightning can indeed strike twice.

 

This article was originally published in the February 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Thirty-eight-year-old Anna Forster is married with a challenging career as a paramedic when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Her decline is rapid, and before long she's divorced, unemployed, and living at Rosalind House, an assisted-living facility. The residents are at least twice Anna's age except for Luke, another young victim of early-onset dementia. In this environment of aging, deterioration, and death, Anna finds something precious—love born from the ashes of her shattered life. When newly single mother Eve Bennett comes to work at Rosalind House, she thinks she, too, has lost everything until she meets Anna and learns what loss really means. VERDICT While on the surface a sad, realistic portrayal of a heartbreaking disease, Hepworth's (The Secrets of Midwives) latest is much more. The story, told through the alternating voices of Anna, Eve, and Eve's young daughter, is nothing less than a poignant testament to the immeasurable and restorative power of love. Sure to appeal to fans of Jojo Moyes, Jodi Picoult, and Lisa Genova; book clubs will be lining up.—Jeanne Bogino, New Lebanon Lib., NY

Hepworth's second novel (after The Secrets of Midwives) explores issues of self-determination and identity through an unconventional tearjerker of a love story. Diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's at 39, Anna has made the difficult decision to move into a residential care facility. Though she's mostly surrounded by senior citizens, there's one other self-described "young person, old mind": Luke, who suffers from frontotemporal dementia. The two immediately bond over their unlikely shared circumstance, and eventually their friendship moves into romance. But as Anna's condition worsens, the question of whether she is capable of relationships, or of falling in love, comes into question, and her family insists that she and Luke be kept apart. The home's new cook, Eve, is charmed by Luke and Anna's tale of star-crossed love, and she vows to help them at any cost—but her understanding of the potential dangers is incomplete, and facilitating their romance could put more than just her job in jeopardy. The story's nonlinear structure, designed to mimic Anna's disorientation, cleverly obscures a few reveals that color the reader's perception of the dilemma at hand, and while none of these reveals are particularly surprising, they're no less heartbreaking. A supporting cast of quirky old folks and Eve's precocious daughter add levity to a poignant and nuanced story. (Jan.)