The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston
Anna Johnston was set to graduate from a medical degree when her grandfather and best friend Fred was diagnosed with dementia.
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Embarking on her own plot twist, she followed her heart into his nursing home, where she became the social support coordinator.
They spent the last years of Fred’s life together, Anna wheeling him down the corridor, singing at the top of their lungs, eating lunch with each other every day and writing love letters to his wife, Anna’s grandmother, Dawn.
A passionate advocate for positive ageing and innovative dementia care, Anna worked on finding creative ways to provide not only her grandfather, but every resident, with purpose and connection, challenging the stereotypes and assumptions of what older people both enjoy and are capable of.
When injury left her unable to continue working in aged care, she began to write about it, channelling her experience and love for older people onto the page, taking inspiration from her grandparents to shape her characters.
While the plot of Anna’s novel The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is fictional, the love is entirely real.
Eighty-two-year-old Frederick Fife is lonely, broke and on the brink of homelessness, when in a bizarre case of mistaken identity, he takes the place of cranky Bernard Greer at the local nursing home.
Suddenly, he finds himself with a roof over his head, warm meals in his belly and, most importantly, the chance to be part of a family again.
Fingers crossed that his poker face is in better nick than his prostate and that his lookalike doesn’t turn up.
As Fred begins to walk in Bernard’s shoes, he discovers more about the man’s past and what it would take to return a broken life to mint condition.
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is a remarkably perceptive, uplifting debut novel, full of love, and is richly intertwined with both the heartbreaking and the hilarious.
Anna Johnston is an emerging Australian author who grew up in country Victoria before moving to Melbourne where she lives with her husband and daughters by the beach.
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston is published by Michael Joseph, RRP $34.99. It will be released on July 2.
GIVEAWAY
We have three copies of this book to give away.For a chance to win a copy, send your name, address, daytime phone number and the answer to this question: What is the name of the young sunflower grower on page 2? Entries close on Thursday, June 27 via either post to: Country Life ‘Borrowed’ Competition, PO Box 8000, Shepparton, 3632; or email to: competition@countrynews.com.au — please include the word ‘Borrowed’ in the subject line.
WINNERS
The winners of the Vintage Crochet book giveaway are Kairen Patterson of Euroa and Flora Pegoraro of Tatura. Congratulations! You can collect your prize from the Shepparton News office at 7940 Goulburn Valley Hwy, Shepparton.
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