The Things We Keep

By: Sally Hepworth

Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik, Thérèse Plummer

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

A novel of love undaunted by obstacles, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Sister.

Rosalind House might not be the first place you'd expect to find new love and renewal, but within the walls of this assisted living facility two women have their lives changed forever.

Anna Forster, in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease at only thirty-eight years of age, knows that her twin, Jack, has chosen Rosalind House because another young resident, Luke, lives there. As if, Anna muses, a little companionship will soften the unfairness of her fate.

Eve Bennett also comes to Rosalind house reluctantly. Once a pampered, wealthy wife, she is now cooking and cleaning to make ends meet.

Both women are facing futures they didn't expect. With only unreliable memories to guide them, they have no choice but to lean on and trust something more powerful. Something closer to the heart.

©2019 Sally Hepworth (P)2019 Macmillan Australia Audio

Critic reviews

"You'll shed a few tears as the women try to forge a new life, despite the fact that they can't, or won't, remember the past. One for long afternoons." Sydney Morning Herald

Another brilliant Sally Hepworth book

This is a fantastic, entertaining and enthralling book. And the narration is wonderful. Highly recommend.

Bittersweet Book

Whether you have ever known a person with dementia or are just listening to this book, you can not help to be moved by this beautiful book. I felt so many emotions of love, worry, sadness, and anger, and yet through it all there is always hope and deep compassion. The Things We Keep is an extraordinary novel about the love between Anna who is 38 and has early onset dementia and Luke, 41 who also has dementia and is a resident in Rosalind an elderly care home. Anna can't remember his name but calls him "young guy" and the two only want to be with one another. Eve is a recent widow, who finds herself needing a job and is hired to be a cook in the Rosalind facility. She struggles to keep a deep dark secret so that she can keep her daughter Clementine in her same school district without moving. The character development is deftly told with alternating chapters by Anna, Eve, and Clementine going back through time. There are decisions made, that alter life choices, and the author does a magnificent job of giving keen perspective to the characters and their feelings as they evolve. Life is not always what is seems on the surface. Brilliantly written, with a real feel into the mind of someone struggles with dementia, this book is one I so loved. Truly it is one that touched the deepest corners of my heart.

Barrie Kreinik and Thérèse Plummer were brilliant with the delivery of the story