Inheriting Edith by Zoe Fishman

image from LibraryThing

Maggie and Edith are an unlikely pair.  Maggie is the cleaning lady and Edith has not been particularly close to any of her 'help.' Liza was Maggie's friend and Edith's daughter and she left a gorgeous house in Sag Harbor and Edith to Maggie in her will.  How can you inherit an elderly woman?  Well that was just a part of the package - the house and Edith.  You see, Edith was aging and had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Maggie had a decision to make.

It was actually an easy decision - carrying out the decision was not quite so easy.  Edith did not believe she needed to be taken care of by a gold-digger cleaning lady!

That is the simple premise of this story.  From the beginning you know that they will figure it out. That's a given - and actually a comfort.  You want Maggie and Edith to create a family.

The unexpected part is Edith's own story. As her short term memory fades her past becomes more and more real.  And in a brilliant moment she decides to ask Maggie to write down those memories. Stories of a dancer's life in NYC and the beauty and difficulties she hid to achieve.

This is a story of mothers and daughters and the secrets that keep them apart and draw them together. It's a story of the horror of Alzheimer's and the depth of friendship.  It's about making a new family from the friends you surround yourself with.

I enjoyed this one!  It was a great beach read - Costa Rica book #2