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    Inheriting Edith: A Novel
    Inheriting Edith: A Novel
    Inheriting Edith: A Novel
    Audiobook8 hours

    Inheriting Edith: A Novel

    Written by Zoe Fishman

    Narrated by Cassandra Campbell

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    From the author of Driving Lessons, Saving Ruth, and Balancing Acts comes a poignant breakout novel about a single mother who inherits a beautiful beach house with a caveat—she must take care of the ornery elderly woman who lives in it.

    For years, Maggie Sheets has been an invisible hand in the glittering homes of wealthy New York City clients, scrubbing, dusting, mopping, and doing all she can to keep her head above water as a single mother. Everything changes when a former employer dies leaving Maggie a staggering inheritance. A house in Sag Harbor. The catch? It comes with an inhabitant: The deceased’s eighty-two-year old mother Edith.

    Edith has Alzheimer’s—or so the doctors tell her—but she remembers exactly how her daughter Liza could light up a room, or bring dark clouds in her wake. And now Liza’s gone, by her own hand, and Edith has been left—like a chaise or strand of pearls—to a poorly dressed young woman with a toddler in tow.

    Maggie and Edith are both certain this arrangement will be an utter disaster. But as summer days wane, a tenuous bond forms and Edith, who feels the urgency of her diagnosis, shares a secret that she’s held close for five decades, launching Maggie on a mission that might just lead them each to what they are looking for.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateOct 18, 2016
    ISBN9780062571519
    Inheriting Edith: A Novel
    Author

    Zoe Fishman

    Zoe Fishman is the 2020 Georgia Author of the Year. She is the bestselling author of five previous novels and several awards including Booklist’s “Top 10 Books of the Year” and an IndieNext Pick.  She’s been featured on “City Lights” with Lois Reitzes, and in Publisher’s Weekly and The Atlanta Jewish Times among others. Her essays have been published in The New York Times, The Atlanta Journal Constitution and Modern Loss.   Zoe was the Director of The Decatur Writers Studio and a visiting writer at SCAD Atlanta. She lives in Decatur with her two sons.

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    Reviews for Inheriting Edith

    4/5

    299 ratings41 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 4/5
      I loved the way the relationship between the lead characters builds
    • 4/5
      A nice story with believable characters which I much enjoyed
    • 5/5
      Great book - easy listening - relatable - loved the characters
    • 2/5
      I was enjoying the book until the author (via Edith) called suicide a “cowardly resolution”. I couldn’t stand to listen any further.
    • 5/5
      really good. i loved zoe's style. the story was relatable and engaging
    • 3/5
      Sweet story about dreadful effects of Alzheimer’s- not riveting
    • 5/5
      I loved all the different voices the narrator put on, the baby one made me laugh! A really enjoyable book that really took me away to another place. I would recommend!
    • 3/5
      Sadness throughout the book as my parents had Alzheimer's and are now passed. The grieving as the disease progresses is so cruel to all involved. gresses
    • 4/5
      A heart warming story. I really enjoyed listening to it
    • 5/5
      Sweet story of unexpected friendships and relationships. Much enjoyed.
    • 4/5
      I thought this sounded like another book that would take me away from my usual historical fiction reads. I was intrigued with the premise even though it wasn’t a totally new idea for a plot. The Alzheimer’s addition made it more current as that is a disease that is affecting so many families.Maggie is barely getting by as a maid for wealthy people in New York. In the course of her work she befriended Liza, a famous author but the friendship was betrayed and they haven’t spoken in years so that is why Maggie is so surprised to find that Liza has left her a very large bequest in her will – a fully paid for house in Sag Harbor and an income. But the house does come with an inhabitant – Liza’s mother Edith who has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Edith is having a hard time dealing with her diagnosis and the fact that her daughter killed herself.Maggie feels she has no choice but to accept because she knows it would be best for her daughter. She knows Edith doesn’t like her but there is nothing for it. The two women need to learn to get along. Edith has a best friend Esther who is a real kicker, in fact Esther is the best character in the book. As they all try to manage their new life Maggie tries to help Edith by writing down her life before she forgets everything and it leads to secrets being revealed by both Edith and Maggie which could also lead to a sort of forgiveness.This was a quick and surprisingly light read despite the subject matter. The book covers love and loss, suicide and Alzheimer’s and single motherhood and more and yet it never falls into any really dark places. The characters are sufficiently developed but I think there is much more that could have been made known. Liza, for example is so much a part of the story and yet I never really felt like I had a handle on her. Granted she was dead but still – she is the one that put the whole story in motion. I just felt like I wanted a little bit more. But I did enjoy the book – I read it in one Sunday afternoon and it kept me interested enough to want to keep reading.
    • 4/5
      Nice and easy listen.It was a really feel good book.
    • 3/5
      Was just getting going, when it finished...no real ending, no tying up of loose strings, just....the end
    • 4/5
      Fairly easy read. A good and light past time esp when feeling stressed or you're generally preoccupied with other pressing matters in life
    • 5/5
      That was such a great book. It was very laid back chill like a nice cup of tea. Strong characters, simple storyline but compelling and moving.
    • 4/5
      A gentle book of decisions we make individually that could affect others in so many ways. And A beautiful approach to Alzheimer patients.
    • 5/5
      I loved being in the mind of the women in this book. It’s thought provoking, entertaining and insightful , you will want to listen to it in one go!
    • 5/5
      Totally enjoyed the audiobook!! It was the fictional audiobook I listened to.??
    • 5/5
      This was such a good way to present dementia from the point of view of Edith, the person experiencing it, and Maggie, her newest help, along with almost "freee" year old Lucy---adjusting to an unusual set of circumstances. There were so many issues that Fishman presented---and worked through. Everything did not get solved so the reader is left with questions but that is life...there aren's always answers, even in a novel. I have not read Zoe Fishman before so this was a good introduction and I'm very happy she has more books!
    • 4/5
      Good read. Some interesting issues. Sort of left the reader hanging. Feels like there should be a sequel
    • 4/5
      Unique concept. A college single Mom turned cleaning lady, inherits a house from a deceased ex-client, with one catch. The house comes with the client's mother, who has Alzheimer's. So, Maggie moves in with her daughter and the three stumble along in this unusual relationship.
    • 4/5
      Maggie inherits a house from a former friend, but it comes with a price: she must also take care of her friend’s elderly mother who is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. So Maggie finds herself caring for her own rambunctious two-year-old and a cantankerous eighty-two year old, a virtual stranger. The author does a very good job of bringing these characters to life as they deal with numerous problems. The everyday stress of being a single mom is compounded by the stress of health issues of the elderly. Add in some past secrets in the lives of both these women, and you a recipe for a thought-provoking as well as entertaining read.
    • 4/5
      All through the book I waited for there to be some tidy resolutions to the challenges the characters faced. But the author gently brushes past those in a way that makes this novel feel very real. There is the suicide of a beloved daughter - but there is no definitive explanation for her actions. There is the progressive disease that Edith faces with no magical drug, just increasing confusion. There is single mom, Maggie, who meets a very nice man but somehow it isn't quite right. There is the reunion with a son given up for adoption, but at a time too late to see her children together and to forge those relationships. Instead, Maggie, as the main character, comes to terms with the idea that imperfection is ok. It's a lovely message at the end.
    • 3/5
      A bit too light for me, as other reviewers categorized it, it is a beach read. Some tough subjects (Alzheimer's, depression, suicide) are treated a bit too lightly for me. As a caregiver for a mother with dementia, I was drawn to the premise of this novel, but it was too frothy and light for my taste.
    • 3/5
      Maggie inherits a house in Sag Harbor NY from an old friend/client as well her benefactor's 82 year old mother, who is suffering from early stage Alzheimers. Maggie and her 2 year old daughter, move to Sag Harbor and begin their new life. Along the way, the create a family unit with Edith, Edith's best friend and a potential love interest. Inheriting Edith is a light hearted story that doesn't require a great deal from the reader. The author fleshed out Edith very well but Maggie is a bit flat and one dimensional. Reading a story about a strong woman slowly losing her memory is not easy but all of the other plot points seem a flat. One of my biggest pet peeves is when the author names characters that start with the same letter: Liza (the benefactor), Lucy (the 2 year old daughter) and Lyle (the ex love interest) and Edith and Esther (her best friend.) There are 24 other letters in the alphabet available for usage!Inheriting Edith is a beach read - you are engaged when you read it, can put it down easily and not worry that you missed much (except who all of the L named characters are).
    • 3/5
      Maggie and Edith are an unlikely pair. Maggie is the cleaning lady and Edith has not been particularly close to any of her 'help.' Liza was Maggie's friend and Edith's daughter and she left a gorgeous house in Sag Harbor and Edith to Maggie in her will. How can you inherit an elderly woman? Well that was just a part of the package - the house and Edith. You see, Edith was aging and had just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.Maggie had a decision to make.It was actually an easy decision - carrying out the decision was not quite so easy. Edith did not believe she needed to be taken care of by a gold-digger cleaning lady!That is the simple premise of this story. From the beginning you know that they will figure it out. That's a given - and actually a comfort. You want Maggie and Edith to create a family.The unexpected part is Edith's own story. As her short term memory fades her past becomes more and more real. And in a brilliant moment she decides to ask Maggie to write down those memories. Stories of a dancer's life in NYC and the beauty and difficulties she hid to achieve.This is a story of mothers and daughters and the secrets that keep them apart and draw them together. It's a story of the horror of Alzheimer's and the depth of friendship. It's about making a new family from the friends you surround yourself with.I enjoyed this one! It was a great beach read - Costa Rica book #2
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would. A single mother who cleans houses for a living, ends up with a wonderful house left to her by a former client, but also the woman's mother who has Alzheimers. Yes, we can figure out life lessons, but the writing was good and the characters were well done. Turns out I have read a few books by this author and I'll make sure I didn't miss any.
    • 4/5
      Inheriting Edith is Zoe Fishman's latest book.Maggie is a single mom who has been working as a house cleaner. One of her clients is a well known author, who treats her well. But when Liza kills herself, Maggie is stunned to find out that she has been left a house in Sag Harbor - complete with the author's eighty year old mother Edith - who has Alzheimer's.This reader was immediately engaged with Fishman's characters. I think each reader will have a favorite character, based on their stage of life. Maggie is a pull no punches woman, struggling to do her best by her little daughter, who has a voice in the story as well. (Some of her dialogue is a bit advanced for the age of the child, but out of the mouth of babes...) Edith is the character who spoke to me the most. Her struggle with memory, everyday living and putting the past right struck close to home for me. I thought Fishman did a great job portraying the everyday issues that come with Alzheimer's - from both Edith and Maggie's viewpoint. I did find Edith's friend Lillian a bit overdrawn and over the top.There aren't a lot of surprises in Inheriting Edith - this type of story has been written before. But Fishman's premise was unique and I found her exploration of motherhood, friendship, grief, aging, illness, self discovery and yes, love, to be thoughtful. I think book clubs would enjoy this novel.If you're in the mood for a heart string tugging tale, consider Inheriting Edith.
    • 4/5
      Maggie Sheets is a college degreed housekeeper with an adorable little girl she is raising on her own. Her life takes a sudden and unexpected turn when she inherits a house in Sag Harbor along with an unusual occupant.A story about Alzheimer's and suicide, but not sad or depressing. Maggie, Edith, and Lucy are great characters....I enjoyed reading about their journey.
    • 4/5
      Maggie is a highly educated house cleaner who is left a Sag Harbor house when one of her previous employers commits suicide. The catch, the house comes with Edith, the aging mother who has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I enjoyed reading this book, it was much better than my explanation!