What readers think of The Things We Keep, plus links to write your own review.

Sally Hepworth's new novel The Things We Keep tells the story of the heart-breaking illness of Alzheimer's and dementia which has afflicted a young woman and a young man. The author poignantly describes how the patients' families and friends suffer as they witness the mental deterioration of their loved ones as the disease progresses. Hepworth writes with compassion and understanding of the impact of this cruel disease on all who know and love the patients.

Hepworth ambitiously weaves together the heart-wrenching stories of her characters who by chance or choice live or work at Rosalind House, a small residential assisted living facility. At times, I thought that the plot seemed too complicated with the story of the cook and her young daughter vying for my attention and detracting me from the plight of the Alzheimer's and dementia patients. Nevertheless, the power of love in saving memories pulsed throughout the novel, gripping my attention to the very end.

I've always believed that we go through certain life experiences to prepare us for something that is coming down the road...whether to help ourselves or another person. In The Things We Keep, which is told from multi character perspectives, Eve's life experience brings her to work at an assisted living facility so she can advocate for a woman (Anna) with early onset Alzheimer's Disease who is only in her late 30's. The different voices, and the reality of Anna's decline, is very realistic. And yet the story is not depressing or frightening. Life happens in countless different experiences, one experience preparing us for the next.

"The Things We keep" I believe will be helpful for people who have family and loved ones with dementia related disease, and maybe don't know a lot about this terrible disease that affects millions of people in the US alone.
That the 2 main characters are in their '30's is highly unusual as most with Alzheimer's are over 65 (a small percentage are in their 40's and 50's). What is true however, is that love sustains. Family members need to be advocates as with any disease, and do their research. As in the book, aides, helpers, anyone working in the facilities that the patients are living need to be aware of how much love and tenderness the patient needs. In the case of Eva- the cook and housekeeper, untrained but with an innate sense, understood the need for the residents for friendship and love, as loneliness and trauma may affect the patient.
A quick read, with some good information and real life situations that happen in these facilities, I would recommend that families who need help with your loved ones contact the Alzheimer Association at their 800# , 24 hours a day, every day, for any questions you may have. They are a great resource for everything regarding this disease.

Too much going on; difficult to know what part or timeframe of Anna's life the author was talking about. I was confused from time to time of whom Hepworth was writing about - Eve or Anna. I found I was flipping back through pages to find out what was happening to whom and when. The author did build the characters and they became wonderful, especially Luke. It was most certainly a good story, but was not a favorite of mine. A real downer. However, I am taking it to our book club for discussion. Perhaps I should have waited for that discussion before writing this review.

I looked forward to reading this book based on the premise of two young thirty-somethings who are both voluntary residents of an assisted living facility. It made me wonder how and why this came to be and what paths their lives there would take. I was disappointed in the results. Contrary to the ads, this was no STILL ALICE. While this book was pleasant to read, it lacked depth and was very predictable.

I am sure there is an audience for this book, but it is not me. I was excited to read this arc. Who could not love a love story, especially when the characters have everything stacked against them? Having just had a relative in an assisted living situation, I found the descriptions of the facility and the residents extremely accurate. Hepworth did an excellent job writing these scenes. What I found unbelievable, however, was the responsibilities Eve was assigned in her new job and the role she adopted in caring for the residents. I feel that the author tried to tackle too broad a scope by telling too many story lines. Each was necessary to pull the plot along but none were developed enough. I do like the message however. We could all learn from this novel to scrape away all the surface nonsense in our lives, and appreciate the one great love we can feel for another.