Todd Johnson (1)

This is such a profound book on so many levels that everyone should read it. One astonishing fact is that the author is a male, writing about females with exquisite sensitivity and insight, and not just any females -- elderly females and a couple younger ones.

The book is written from the viewpoints of the 5 main characters: two aging women in a nursing home, their main caregiver, a hairdresser who works part time at the nursing home, and the daughter of the caregiver. No, this may not sound like exquisite reading but it is. Todd Johnson is a master of words. This story may change how you think about old age and other ages as well. It may change how you treat people and what you decide to do sometimes. The story is charming, funny, sad, upbeat, revealing, and profound. And it's oh so real.

I hope this author writes many more books.… (mehr)

A story about southern black American women focusing on two women who live in a nursing home, and their carers and relatives. My mother lives in a nursing home, so there was some direct relevance to me, but this (audiobook version) didn't really connect well with me. I thought it was quite well written and the characters and situations were very real, based on my experience. Perhaps the cultural contrast was too off-putting for me. Although it wasn't a great read, it certainly kept my interest enough to while away the time on my 2 and 3 hour nocturnal runs.… (mehr)

Whether it’s the sentimentality of Mother’s Day coming up, or thoughts of my own aging, I don’t know, but this book really spoke to me, and then whispered in my thoughts, and swirled through my dreams.

The twining paths of five southern women, their stories told in alternating chapters in the voices of four of their number, the fifth no longer lucid. Lorraine is an aide at a nursing home where Margaret and Bernice now live. Rhonda is a beautician who comes once a week to the home, and April is Lorraine’s daughter. The chapters move quickly through time – the young grow up and have careers, the elderly pass on, the middle aged become elderly. Their hopes and dreams, their pasts and memories, what they’ve lived through, what they learn from one another, gently, gracefully told. Listen to me trying to explain about this story when I don’t have the words that this author does (who, by the way, did a remarkable job of giving voices to all these women). If this sounds like a story you’d be interested in, please read some of the quotes I’ve added to the Common Knowledge page. You won’t be disappointed.… (mehr)