Carolyn Dalling

Abanathy House Carolyn Dalling

Abanathy House is about a nurse who is burned out from conventional nursing and returns to her home state of Maine. She is unsure why she has returned since her childhood memories here are unpleasant. Her only relative is a brother whom she always disliked. Paul Abanathy is an elderly man who is caring for Viola, a woman with Alzheimer's Disease. Paul is legally blind and realizes he will be unable to care for her much longer but he has promised her she will never have to go to a nursing home and he intends to keep that promise. Evie and Paul fulfill their needs by starting a boarding home for elderly people. They accumulate a diverse group of boarders and workers. The results are touching and sometimes hilarious as they meld together into a close family contending with Viola's decline through the stages of Alzheimer's. Each family member gains strength from their new relationships and Evie gets a new insight into her childhood when she meets her brother who is recovering from alcoholism. Abanathy House shows that growing old is not the end of living in fact it can be a new beginning.