Joanna Nell has made a name for herself as a writer who explores characters who are entering their ‘twilight years’. Her books show us that getting older doesn’t mean ‘going gently into that good night’. Her characters embrace life, turning their backs on societal expectations and choosing adventures instead.

Dr Heather Winterbottom is no exception. She can’t wait to hang up her stethoscope, jump on a plane, and explore the Greek Islands. She can’t believe it when her husband of forty years and fellow GP Alan is instead looking forward to relaxing at home and growing his own vegetables. So Heather decides to ‘do a Shirley Valentine’ and goes to Greece alone.

This new book from Nell didn’t sing as much as her previous books. It’s hard to pinpoint, but part of the problem is it’s hard not to compare it to Shirley Valentine. Of course she meets a gorgeous single Greek man - I know it was necessary to drive the plot forward, but it felt so predictable.

And the resolution, when it came, felt to me very unlikely. I cannot believe that Alan would change so much. And is that the answer, when it is apparent that two people are so diametrically opposed, one of them has to change dramatically to suit the other? I know this is fiction, but I also know that the rate of divorce after retirement is high, due to this very fact.

So it just didn’t ring true for me, and this detracted from my overall enjoy of the book.

Joanna Nell has done it again. This warm and funny novel is told from the perspective of three volunteers at The Marjorie Marshall Memorial Cafeteria in St. Jude’s Hospital. As always, Nell is particularly astute at giving voice to women ‘of a certain age’. So often older characters are mere caricatures, but Hilary and Joy are relatable women, dealing with life’s many curve balls the best they can. They aren’t perfect, but they are real. Introducing 17 year old Chloe to the Cafeteria gives Hillary and Joy an opportunity to share their wisdom and also gain a younger perspective. It’s a win-win for them all.

There are many poignant moments, and then there are many laugh-out-loud moments too. For example, as ‘Hilary tried to conjure some positive affirmations. If was important to maintain a growth mindset in the face of setbacks. Failure is simply an opportunity for development, she told herself. Even for someone who’d read as many management and self-improvement books as her, it was a hard sell. Honestly, did anyone actually believe this codswallop?’

Hilary, Joy and Chloe are memorable characters who find they have more in common than they realise. As they battle to keep their beloved Cafeteria open for business, they each discover inner strength and resilience, not to mention new and unexpected life-long friends. Prepared to be charmed!

I have loved several other novels written by Joanna Nell. This book is harder to love. Mrs Henry Parker, or Evelyn to her friends, has lived her whole life on cruise ships with her beloved husband Henry who is a ship’s doctor. They are now enjoying their twilight years aboard the Golden Sunset. However, Evelyn seems to have lost Henry.

Evelyn regales her new friends Nola and Frank with the story of how she and Henry met on board a ship from England, bound for Australia in 1953, and then went on to spend the rest of their lives at sea. Nell’s own experience as a ship’s doctor gives the book a real sense of authenticity. As she says in her acknowledgements, this novel is ‘a tribute to all ships’ doctors and nurses, the unsung heroes and heroines’.

It is obvious that Evelyn is suffering from dementia. This is extremely sad as she struggles to put names to faces, and often loses track of time, turning up for breakfast in her evening dress on one occasion. I find it difficult to believe that a woman with such advanced alzheimer’s would be allowed to wander around unattended on a cruise ship. And that’s the plot, in essence: Evelyn wandering the ship, looking for Henry.

That being said, Nell, as always, writes about getting old with compassion and empathy. As Evelyn says, getting old ‘ is as inevitable as the weather, and just as unpredictable. Like the weather, it could be forecast but not controlled. Best to be prepared, but go ahead with the picnic regardless. When it came to ageing, the best you could do was to carry an umbrella. And a life jacket.’

[a:Joanna Nell|18061662|Joanna Nell|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1531896805p2/18061662.jpg] has done it again. I loved [b:The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village|44182122|The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village|Joanna Nell|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|62458297], but I adored TGEFWNH! Every character seems real - they really do jump from the page and I could see them all as clear as day.

Hattie Bloom (Miss Bloom, thank you very much!) finds herself ensconced in a ‘room with a view’ in the Woodlands Nursing Home after breaking her hip. She is ferociously independent, preferring the company of birds to that of humans, whose behaviour she finds baffling. She is counting down the days to when she can return to the tranquility of her beloved home.

Walter Clements lives in the room next door. He loves dad jokes, whisky and his best mate Murray who is now bedridden. He can’t wait to pass his ‘driving test’ for a mobility scooter so he can return to his home.

Nell deftly tells the story of how these two unlikely allies become co-conspirators in a plan to help Murray return to his beloved wife and garden one more time. Along the way we learn about their lives, and the lives of other residents of the nursing home. It’s so easy to dismiss the elderly, forgetting that they have lived all sorts of lives - some ordinary, some extraordinary.

So many issues regarding how we treat our older community members are touched upon. From the over-zealous children who infantilize their parents, to the over-use of medication to ‘help’ residents sleep through the night, Nell uses her experience as a GP to explore how we can better provide stimulating and caring environments for our seniors.

I found this book incredibly poignant and moving. It made me laugh, and it brought me to tears. I really cannot recommend it enough. It’s an absolute gem.

‘Peggy Smart was ninety percent sure it was Monday.’

It’s impossible not to empathise with Peggy Smart. At almost 80 years of age, she knows that women her age become invisible, turning ‘completely neutral, blending in so perfectly to the tasteful decor of the retirement village that she had all but disappeared.’

She is still grieving the loss of her husband Ted, and is terrified that her adult children are going to see her occasional lapses of memory as an excuse to pack her off to a nursing home. Her life is dictated by her medication and her problem bladder that has hindered her all her life. She pines for the highly eligible Brian Cornell, yearning for ‘a deeper connection with another human’.

When a new resident moves in to the Village, Peggy cannot believe her eyes - it’s an old school friend, Angie Valentine, who she hasn’t seen for fifty years. Angie is still as glamorous as she was then; the life of the party. And she sees it as her mission to show Peggy how to age disgracefully.

You will find yourself quietly cheering for Peggy as her confidence grows, and she starts to embrace life again.

[a:Joanna Nell|18061662|Joanna Nell|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1531896805p2/18061662.jpg] has written a novel that celebrates growing old, and shows us that ageing doesn’t mean that we have to stop living a full and meaningful life. Sometimes we all need a friend like Angie Valentine!