By Carmela DeVito
Book Reviews
Carmela DeVito
Frederick has a problem. He’s about to be evicted from his apartment and has nowhere to go.
He takes a walk to the river, where he sees a man in a wheelchair who doesn’t appear to be alive. In an effort to help the man, Frederick trips and the body goes flying into the river.
Frederick enters the river and is immediately approached by Denise, one of the caretakers helping other patients. The resemblance between Frederick and the man in the wheelchair is uncanny. Denise, not noticing any differences, begins to call him Bernard.
Frederick does his best to tell Denise and the officials at the care home his true identity, but no one believes him. Bernard was a dementia patient, and his statements were not taken seriously.
Frederick has a lot of misgivings about being an impostor that weigh heavily on him. He is justifiably concerned that the truth will come out and he’ll be out on the streets.
But once he’s entered the care home, things begin to change for him. His inherent goodness makes him very approachable and endears him to the other residents. This includes Patricia, who is a bit of a nymphomaniac.
Frederick gets the shock of his life when he’s informed Bernard’s daughter Hannah is coming for a visit. Hannah has been estranged from her father for many years. Bernard had abandoned the family when Hannah’s younger sister Sadie passed away from leukemia when she was 13.
Hannah remembers her father as being angry and can’t reconcile that history with the man who now seems to be a totally different person. Frederick presents letters Bernard had written to Hannah and vice versa but were returned unopened.
When Hannah reads her father’s letters, she begins to understand the depth of Bernard’s feelings for her and how devastating Sadie’s death was for him.
Eventually the truth comes out. Frederick becomes concerned again over his living situation and how this will affect his relationship with Hannah.
I won’t say much more, other than it’s a beautifully heartwarming story. You will get swept up with the chain of events that lead Frederick to the care home, a relationship he never would have dreamed of and an ending that will give you all the warm fuzzies. I absolutely loved this book.
Carmela DeVito, a voracious reader with a journalism degree from Marquette University, is a retired social worker and a member of the Friends of the Milford Library.