*Received via NetGalley for review*

Clearly, this is meant to be a touching and not-so gentle rebuke of the state of France's mental and elder care. And it almost gets there - Josephine is a touching character, full of life and spunk, who is tragically suffering from both age and the indifference of those meant to care for her. Valerie, her new companion, sees the life and spark left in this incredible women, but unfortunately wasn't able to do much.

If we had spent more time with Valerie and Josephine, and watched their friendship grow and strengthen, it would have been more impactful. As it is, we get glimpses of this great bond, but the emotional heart is not as strong as it should be.

What it does do, however, is make you furious for all the neglected and lonely elderly people, in France and elsewhere, who have no one checking after them and caring for them. They're relegated to the state or the country, and receive suboptimal care that does nothing for them. ( )

This was hard reading. Not level wise, but emotional. It’s about a woman's experience as a helper to another woman with alzhimers. It does not take place in the US, but the experiences are similar. People with no one left for social offices to deal with that have too little time, and too little staff. I won’t say I enjoyed this book because it was a sad reminder about what happens to older individuals with no family to look after them. But it was well done and well worth the read.
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