Article contributed by Zoë Leonarczyk
It took me a long time to write this review. Not because I didn’t like the book, but because it was so important to me. As soon as I picked this book up, I knew that I would connect with the story. The cover alone made me think about my grandmother and the story only allowed for me to continue to expand on that connection.
Duffy is an 88-year old self-proclaimed curmudgeon. He knows he’s feisty and has attitude, but he also knows that that’s what makes him so lovable. Duffy swears like a sailor, shamelessly flirts with the nurses, and has his eyes set on a fellow resident at the Centennial Assisted Living Home. To say he’s living life to its fullest is an understatement because now is the time that Duffy can begin to live as he finally is able to stop drinking. However, Duffy has to live his life within reason, because one wrong move and he will be sent to the horror show that is the only other facility in town. That other place is such a hellhole that Duffy would choose to die before being sent to live in it, let alone set foot in the building ever again.
Carl is the mirror to Duffy and his beloved roommate and partner-in-crime. Duffy and Carl live to run Centennial and pride themselves in being at the top of the social ladder amidst all of the other residents. Carl is sweet and bumbling and the perfect roommate to balance out the feistiness of Duffy. He lived the perfect life that Duffy always wished he had. Carl married the perfect woman and they celebrated their love with one another throughout the ups and downs of life. Or so it seemed.
In walks Josie, or it might be better to say climbed. Desperate and suffering from withdrawals from alcohol, Josie needs a place to crash and Duffy and Carl’s room is the perfect place. As it turns out, Josie is the granddaughter Duffy never knew Carl had. Josie is the catalyst that sends Duffy and Carl’s lives into a whole new direction that neither of them saw coming.
Josie is everything that Duffy needs to avoid in order to maintain his status at the Centennial. The alcohol on her breath has him craving the stuff that he spent years getting away from. Then also hiding Josie in their room is a surefire way to get Duffy kicked out of the Centennial faster than either he or Carl could walk to the front door. Yet the more Duffy gets to know Josie, the more he wants to help her and let her into the small list of people he considers family. But things aren’t going to be easy inviting this untamed “youngster” into their lives and it might even get a little dangerous.
Even though this was a story set in an assisted living facility, it was still highly relatable, which just goes to show that life doesn’t stop as you get older. We continue to live, grow, and change throughout our lives, and sometimes adventures begin at an age where you least expect it. An adventure is exactly what was thrown into the laps of Duffy and Carl.
This is definitely a story that will appeal to a wide audience of people. It is a story about friendship and finding our family at no matter what stage in life. It is a story of how family isn’t always related by blood and can come from the most expected stages in life. It is a story about living life to the fullest and never settling.
The Big Finish is one of those books that will touch you emotionally in some way. Be it the characters, the story, or just a personal connection there will be something that you will find, relate to, and place in your bank of books that put you into a state of emotional duress. There were just so many important and memorable parts throughout the story that left you wanting more.
One thing is for sure: I hope (and believe) that my grandmother lived her life to her fullest in assisted living like Duffy and Carl did!
The Big Finish is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Meet Duffy, an old curmudgeon who lives in an assisted living home. Meet Josie, a desperate young woman who climbs through his window. Together, they’re going to learn it’s never too late—or too early—to change your ways.
For Duffy Sinclair, life boils down to one simple thing: maintaining his residence at the idyllic Centennial Assisted Living. Without it, he’s destined for the roach-infested nursing home down the road—and after wasting the first eighty-eight years of his life, he refuses to waste away for the rest. So, he keeps his shenanigans to the bare minimum with the help of his straight-laced best friend and roommate, Carl Upton.
But when Carl’s granddaughter Josie climbs through their bedroom window with booze on her breath and a black eye, Duffy’s faced with trouble that’s sticking around and hard to hide—from Centennial’s management and Josie’s toxic boyfriend. Before he knows it, he’s running a covert operation that includes hitchhiking and barhopping.
He might as well write himself a one-way ticket to the nursing home…or the morgue. Yet Duffy’s all in. Because thanks to an unlikely friendship that becomes fast family—his life doesn’t boil down the same anymore. Not when he finally has a chance to leave a legacy.
In a funny, insightful, and life-affirming debut, Brooke Fossey delivers an unflinching look at growing old, living large, and loving big, as told by a wise-cracking man who didn’t see any of it coming.
