Life: A Love Story by Elizabeth Berg

 

Summary (from the publisher): In this warm, intimate novel, a woman celebrates the joy she finds in the ordinary things in life and discovers it’s never too late to start new adventures. By the New York Times bestselling author of The Story of Arthur Truluv and Open House.

Florence “Flo” Greene is nearing the end of her life, and she decides to leave her house and an account of her life for Ruthie, the younger woman who grew up next door, moved away, and still is like a surrogate daughter. As Flo writes to Ruthie about the meaning of beloved things in her home and about events in her past, she also tries new adventures of her own. She intervenes in the lives of friends in her neighborhood.

Flo's project has been to encourage Teresa, a wise but unconfident woman, to open her heart to romance. Flo goes to the library to get advice from Mimi, a librarian. She encourages Ruthie, who is contemplating divorce, to try again with her husband, by sharing a startling secret long buried about Flo’s own seemingly perfect husband and marriage.

In her final weeks, Flo leaves an indelible mark on others, as this moving novel celebrates life, change, and ways to discover new happiness, friendship, and love.

Review: Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC of this story!

What a heartwarming and uplifting tale this was! Florence "Flo" Greene is approaching the end of her life. In her final weeks, she sets out to write a final letter to Ruthie, the young woman who grew up next door and is like her surrogate daughter. In her letter, Flo reminisces on the special belongings in her house and why they hold sentimental value to her, reflects on what it means to love, and reflects on her life and what made it full. Meanwhile, Flo also befriends and encourages Teresa, a new neighbor and friend, to never get up on the possibility for love. 

This compact little novel jumps back and forth between Flo's experiences and excerpts from her letter. While at times her letter may seem like the ramblings of an elderly woman, what she chooses to write down about her life speak volumes. In particular, Flo chooses to reflect a lot on her marriage to her late husband, Terrence. In part, this letter is a love letter to him and also encouragement to Ruthie not to give up on her own faltering marriage. 

I deeply appreciated the depiction of a mature, loving marriage in this book. I think a lot about how few examples we see in fiction of happy, long-term partnerships. I do not mean to say that this was a perfect marriage, by any stretch. In fact, this one was perhaps richer because Flo spends a lot of time reflecting on the mistakes she and her husband made, and why she kept loving him anyway. They were two imperfect people, finding their way back to one another time and again. Even in his death, Flo keenly feels his presence still. 

This book made me tear up not once but multiple times! Having just lost a grandfather in 2024 and as someone with two grandmothers who are almost exactly Flo's age, I so deeply resonated with this story. Life feels different when you know you're on the outer limit of it, when you can see the ending, and when you've already had to experience so many goodbyes. 

This is a very character driven book with relatively limited plot. I thrive in this type of book. They are wholly for me! But I know some like more plot so this may not be for everyone. The older woman contemplating the end of life after losses plus the epistolary aspect of this reminded me a lot of The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. - except Flo is oh so much sweeter and more lovable a character. 

Stars: 4.5