June is having a vocational crisis. She takes a job at a nursing home and finds herself drawn to a man twice her age. Wally is confined to a wheelchair and shows every sign that he is a terrible match for his younger caregiver. But he is so damned charming, and charm is a lost art these days.
June finds herself at this unusual crossroads, and she meets other patients at her job who intrigue her. Concetta is a retired leg model from the 1950’s, who once worked in the Waldorf Astoria and still wears hot pants and heels. Doctor Melvin Stein was once the most prominent plastic surgeon in Manhattan, though his hands are now clumsy from arthritis. A young horse jockey has landed in this same facility, because of his diagnosis of schizophrenia and penchant for glue huffing.
June’s colleagues are women of her own age, struggling with the complexity of dating, the mundanity of marriage, and the impossible risk of having children in today’s world. These women share a boss of Orthodox Jewish faith; he is both mystified and terrified by the women he manages.
As June is confronted with the deaths of the elderly people she adores, she is also faced with a decision about her emotional affair with Wally. Will she remain in her illusion of the past or will she accept the modern world into which she was born?
“A book that gives us food for thought on what needs fixing in American Healthcare. These short vignettes are honest, charming and gritty. We meet these characters...some are broken and need healing, others are whole and can’t heal. Ironside has captured the regional essence of the Tri-State area with compassion and love...” - Francis Rella, Author of Lullaby of Broadway
“Ironside’s gentle hand is the quintessential companion through the most challenging chapter of our lives...” - Michael D’Amato, Author of The Dominican Experiment
