Life: A Love Story

This is sweet and heartfelt with some wonderful life-affirming messages and genuinely charming moments. It’s quiet, simple and introspective in that reminiscent, slice-of-life way that narrators looking back over their lives often use.

Florence “Flo” Greene is 92-years-old and terminally ill with cancer. She has only weeks to live, but rather than sit alone in her house and feel sorry for herself, she decides to write a letter to a woman named Ruthie, who she and her husband Terrence met decades ago when Ruthie was their eight-year-old neighbor. Flo couldn’t have her own children, so Ruthie was like the daughter she never had, and now Flo intends  to leave her house and possessions to her.

Along the way, Flo also meets a new neighbor named Teresa, who just happens to be a death doula to assist dying individuals and their families and a few others who eventually form a little found family. Flo is convinced Teresa is lonely and goes to no small effort to play matchmaker when she’s not writing to Ruthie. 

As Flo said, “So much of a person’s life can be bound up with trying to get things, when it turns out that the best thing is giving …” She’s determined to use her remaining time to bless others, and part of that plan includes trying to save Ruthie’s marriage by sharing a secret from her own past while she still can.

There’s a lot to smile at with Flo’s anecdotes and reminiscing. She’s lived a full life and has many stories to tell, both happy and sad. The book felt like sitting on a front porch swing listening to a spunky elder regale you with stories of their life and the lessons they learned living it. She’s a bit opinionated and can have her busy-body moments, but she means well. If you’re in the mood for that, you’ll enjoy this book. If you find that a little tiresome, you may want to pass on it. I don’t love that type of story, but it was sweet enough and had some nice nuggets of wisdom to chew on.

Here’s where my logical side got in the way of me fully buying into this story, though. I’m not a nurse or an expert on the aged, but I’ve seen my own parents struggle with their handwriting and stamina as they’ve gotten older, and I saw the sheer physical exhaustion in my grandmother as she was in her final weeks with cancer. It was challenging enough to believe Flo could live on her own without nursing assistance, but to have the physical coordination and stamina in her condition to write a VERY long letter to Ruthie defied belief. The book was 208 pages and at least a third or more of those pages were her letter. 

Putting all that aside, if you’re willing to overlook some glaring logical issues and just roll with the ‘hard-earned wisdom from an elder’ aspect, there’s plenty to enjoy in this!

★★★ ½

Thanks to Random House, NetGalley and author Elizabeth Berg for this digital ARC to honestly review. It will be published on March 17, 2026.