Griffith Barlow suffered a quiet hell as a child and was forced into keeping secrets that left wounds in his soul. He barely survived his childhood but became a top chef, earning Michelin stars for his restaurant.
Griff’s younger half-sister, Lisa, is his opposite. Shielded in her childhood, she grows up struggling to understand why she is different to other people. A diagnosis in middle age of ADHD gives her the tools to understand her life with a degree of clarity but she is still looking for the love of her life.
Musician and mathematician, Beau is the man who wins Griff’s heart. They share a dedicated and passionate marriage for more than 20 years until Beau develops early onset Alzheimer’s and he deteriorates quickly. Griff watches the man he loves disappear and makes a monumental decision that will affect all their lives.
Sunny Glen Aged Care Facility is, ironically, where Griff becomes the man he always had the potential to be. Surviving loss and grief and childhood trauma, the act of cooking fine food that nourishes minds and bodies returns him to humanity and his family.
When Lemons Give You Life is multi-layered storytelling progressing through the years with multiple viewpoints. This well-written novel confidently moves from the past to the present mixing comedy, tragedy, pathos and scientific facts. The subject matter is weighty, but Johnston has a lightness of touch and a quirky sense of humour that rewards the reader.
Reviewed by Susan Gorgioski
Read a book review of The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston
Read an interview with Anna Johnston
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anna Johnston is a former baby, aspiring octogenarian and emerging Australian author with a love for the heartfelt and hilarious. She grew up in country Victoria before moving to Melbourne where she lives joyously with her husband and daughters by the beach.
left an imminent career in medicine to follow her heart into her grandfather’s nursing home where she became the social support coordinator, taking great delight in shaking up the usual program. When injury left her unable to continue working in aged care, she began to write about it, channelling her love for older people onto the page.
Anna has enjoyed a life-long passion for screenplay, theatre and creative ageing.
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