Since his mother died, Chad’s life hasn’t been going well. His wife left him for another man, and he’s not really blazing much of a trail at work. His main activity has been visiting his Uncle Martin at the Eldernest Assisted Living Lodge.
But make no mistake—Martin is hardly languishing. He’s quite the ladies’ man and has his nephew stopping at the drugstore for various needs each week. Chad wishes some of that confidence would rub off on him, as he can’t seem to work up the nerve to talk to Lila, one of the employees at the ‘Nest.
The ‘Nest is full of colorful personalities, from Rosie, who seems to meddle in everyone’s business yet has secrets of her own; Clara, who wants to be loyal to her stroke-impaired husband but also wants more; Felicity, the haughty resident whose attitude masks unhappiness; and Grant, who needs to hide who he really is for fear of trouble and being treated differently by his friends and fellow residents.
Chad starts discovering that some of his closest friends are the elderly residents at the ‘Nest, and he tries to help everyone through their problems. This isn’t your typical assisted living facility—there’s lots of drama!
The book is narrated by multiple characters and you get to see things from their different perspectives. I really enjoyed most of the characters and their stories. I liked how Chad grew throughout the book as well.
I really loved how much depth Norstrom gave these characters. Too often elderly people in books are viewed as infirm or incapable of “real lives,” but that’s not the case here. From trying to keep control of your life to not giving up on the ideas of sex and companionship, these characters wanted it all, and fought for it.
This was a sometimes-poignant, sometimes-funny book that really hooked me. It’s just one of those good reads that catches you by surprise with all it has to offer.
I was grateful to have been part of the blog tour for Flying the Nest. Kate Rock Book Tours and Joy Norstrom provided me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!
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