This month, the Women’s Fiction Writers Association puts a spotlight on stories with older narrators. So many stories are written for young people that we often forget to turn our eyes toward the enriched lives of the middle-aged and elderly — especially women. From tender romances and crime thrillers to sweeping historical and intergenerational sagas, these stories highlight the touching and complicated lives of those with a few — or many — extra years under their belts.
Little Great Island by Kate Woodworth
On Little Great Island, climate change is disrupting both life and love.
After offending the powerful pastor of a cult, Mari McGavin must flee with her six-year-old son. With no money and no place else to go, she returns to the tiny Maine island where she grew up — a place she swore she’d never see again. There Mari runs into her lifelong friend Harry Richardson, one of the island’s summer residents, now back to sell his family’s summer home. Mari and Harry’s lives intertwine once again, setting off a chain of events as unexpected and life-altering as the shifts in climate affecting the whole ecosystem… from generations of fishing families to the lobsters and the butterflies.
Follow Me to Africa by Penny Haw
Inspired by the story of groundbreaking paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey, Follow Me to Africa is a sweeping, dual-timeline story of intergenerational friendship, a meditation on the beauty of nature, and a celebration of women who pave the way.
It’s 1983 and 17-year-old Grace Clark has lost her mother when she visits an archaeological dig at Olduvai Gorge on the Serengeti. Here, 70-year-old Mary Leakey enlists Grace to help pack her 50 years of work.
Their interaction reminds Mary how she pursued her ambitions of becoming an archaeologist in the 1930s. When paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey commissioned her to illustrate a book, she fell in love with the older married man. Mary followed Louis to East Africa, where her work in Olduvai Gorge defined her as a great scientist.
In time, Mary and Grace learn they are alike. They discover a mutual deep love for animals, and when they meet Lisa, an injured cheetah, they work together to save her. On the morning Grace is due to leave, the girl and Lisa disappear, and it’s a race against time to rescue Grace before the African bush claims her.
A Piece of My Heart by Katherine P. Stillerman
In this fifth book of the epic Barton Family series, Hattie Barton marries her first love, Will Kendrick. They plan to travel to Shanghai where he’d served as a missionary 30 years earlier, but a family crisis forces Will to go alone, where he is detained when the US enters World War II. Hattie draws deeply on her family, faith, and love for Will, to carry on at home as a single mother of two blossoming daughters and the responsibility for an aging mother and housekeeper.
When the war grinds on with no word from Will, Hattie keeps hope alive, until a devastating loss plunges her into despair. Old doubts emerge as her happiness is snatched away. But an unexpected letter brings her to a crossroads where she must decide to succumb to grief or reach out to find joy amid sadness.
When Doves Lament by Katie Eagan Schenck
Neither expected to fall in love again. But together they might just discover that the love of their lives came later.
Max McAllister swore off love before the ink was dry on his divorce papers. Between attempts to salvage the strained relationship with his daughter and rekindle his passion for woodworking, he doesn’t have time for the drama that romance brings.
Carissa Owens has finally found her footing again after losing her husband five years ago. Her wedding business is thriving, and she has her sights set on expanding to corporate events — if she can secure a meeting with a lucrative new client.
But when Max’s daughter hires Carissa to plan her wedding, he insists on being involved in every aspect of the process, ruffling Carissa’s feathers. As they spend more time together, an unexpected attraction sprouts wings. That is, until Max reveals a surprise for his daughter that puts Carissa’s professional reputation at risk. Can they find a way to dovetail their plans or are they headed for a crash landing?
In the Beginning – The Marriage Survivors Club by Annette Nauraine
Piano teacher Hélène Charbonneau turned her back on her life after a crushing public humiliation. Even her beloved fellow members of the Marriage Survivors Club know nothing of her past. But when a desperate father asks her to teach his 11-year-old son, Darius, a selectively mute piano prodigy, Hélène faces a choice: help a wounded little boy or risk exposure.
With music, Hélène changes the lives of father and son. To her surprise, their love heals her own broken heart. But then Hélène’s old nemesis reappears, threatening Darius’ future, and Hélène’s newfound relationship with his father. Left with no alternative but honesty, she turns to the Marriage Survivors Club to help save the love and music these two lost men have brought her.
Barcelona Red Metallic by Christine Cosack
When the death of a child in a hit-and-run shocks the quiet seaside town of Oyster Hill, police officer Luci Miller is called in to investigate. Her only clue is a fragment of car paint found at the scene — a unique shade of red, that could help identify the killer.
Luci’s investigation leads her to Jo Nelson, a grandmother in her 70s, who is deeply affected by the tragedy. She has watched too many parents suffer the loss of a child, having devoted decades of her life to keeping her son Oliver, born with Cystic Fibrosis, alive. Jo suddenly finds herself in the middle of the chaos when her family falls under suspicion.
The closer Luci gets to Jo, the more she struggles to maintain objectivity. Jo is charming and charismatic, but she has secrets and knows how to keep them. As the investigation draws in around her, Jo must confront the possibility that someone she loves has done the unforgivable.
The Christmas Inn by Pamela Kelley
Riley Sanders didn’t expect to lose her content marketing job just before Christmas. When her sister calls with news that their mom broke her leg, Riley decides to return home to their family inn on Cape Cod for a few weeks. She is happy to help during the bustling holiday season and needs something to distract her as mistletoe is hung and snowflakes begin to fall.
She meets Franny, a guest in her early 70s, who has just lost her sister and has four unopened letters with instructions to open one each week over the holidays. Riley also reconnects with Aidan, her high school sweetheart and now a widower, staying at the inn temporarily with his young son. Her mother, Beth, hasn’t dated in years, but finds herself tempted when she hires someone to do repair work at the inn.
This holiday season brings the unexpected for all ― second chances at romance, found family, and all the joy and wonder that comes with Christmas.
The Path Beneath Her Feet by Janis Robinson Daly
The Path Beneath Her Feet continues the story of Dr. Eliza Edwards’ commitment to limit suffering and save lives. In 1936, as the Depression ravages careers, Eliza must redefine her abilities. When a position calls her to Warm Springs, Georgia, to tend to a polio patient, Eliza faces the harsh realities of a society plagued by prejudice. From FDR’s rehabilitation center to the impoverished communities of Appalachia, Eliza joins the American Women’s Hospitals, reclaiming her purpose and rediscovering her ambitions against the backdrop of the Tennessee mountains. As family responsibilities call her home to Boston, the heartbreak of losing those dearest to her amplifies with the eruption of World War II, bringing chaos to the world and sending her sons into battle.
In this emotionally charged sequel to The Unlocked Path, Dr. Eliza Edwards marks her journey through sacrifice, love, and an unyielding pursuit of justice in an era marked by adversity. The ingénue student becomes the mature mentor, steadfast in her calling to effect social change by addressing women’s health issues and guiding others to realize their dreams.
Not Just a Homemaker: The Extraordinary Life of Sheila MacGregor by Paulette Brooks
For the fans of Marie Benedict and Kate Morton, Not Just a Homemaker is a historical novel debut. Misinformation on an Indiana park sign and a terse obituary motivate Meg, a persistent librarian, to solve a mystery, correct a historical record and uncover the little-known story of an extraordinary Scottish woman named Sheila, whose last legacy is the creation of MacGregor Park.
While Sheila MacGregor is recovering from wartime trauma and Meg Livingston is fleeing from an abusive situation, both survive challenges with help from their best friends. A century separates them, yet each finds solace in the same woodland farmhouse where they resolve to treasure their hard-won independence.
Soul Dancing by Gail Priest
Ninety-year-old Shirlene Foster defies death to care for Stan, her ailing husband, but her body can’t support her. She is transported into the body of a young woman, who is dying during childbirth. Shirlene survives, delivers the infant, and gets her longed-for second chance at motherhood.
To care for Stan during his final days, Shirlene must reveal her true identity to Cameron, the handsome young uncle and surrogate father of her baby. While coping with a newborn, the eventual death of her husband, and the attraction she feels for Cameron, Shirlene must embrace forgiveness in order to seize her second chances.
Fame & Festivities by Savannah Blaize
Heart surgeon Ava Morgan never thought she’d have the pleasure of locking lips with Carter MacDonald, her much younger movie star crush. But when Carter has a heart attack on stage, Ava’s CPR training proves very useful.
Carter arrives at the gates of heaven to be told it isn’t his time. Imagine his surprise when he opens his eyes, and a silver-haired angel is attached to his lips. Now he’s making it his mission to pursue Dr Morgan, despite her insistence that his feelings can’t possibly be real.
Does age really matter? Or can Carter persuade Ava that love at first sight exists?
Elizabeth’s Mountain by Lucille Guarino
Elizabeth is a feisty 90-year-old widow keeping a secret. Developers have tendered a lucrative offer for her beloved Blue Ridge Mountain home in Asheville, North Carolina. She knows her children will pressure her to sell it against her own wishes. But any hope of protecting it clashes with her gnawing awareness of the time she has left.
As Elizabeth agonizes over what to do, her granddaughter, Amanda, ends an unhappy relationship and yearns for a fresh start. She moves into the farmhouse with her grandmother, not far from the hospital where she works. Heartened by an exciting new relationship, Amanda examines her desires and intends not to repeat a history of foregoing her dream. She wants forever, but her unwillingness to compromise could mean losing out on a chance at true love.
Part 1950s historical romance and part contemporary romance, grandmother and granddaughter’s stories unfold and interlace, connecting past with present. As Elizabeth begins to see her younger self reflected in her granddaughter, she wonders if Amanda could hold the key to her legacy.
The Making of Genevieve by Judy Lannon
Does anyone really know their mother?
Genevieve Austin carries a 70-year-old secret. Does this secret shape her or harm her?
Genevieve always strives for the best of everything — the perfect home, clothes, friends, and of course, the perfect man. For Genevieve image is paramount. What happens when her plans are challenged and the idyllic life she dreams of is placed in peril?
The Making of Genevieve opens with 94-year-old Genevieve Austin reflecting on her life as she lies in her hospital bed, waiting for a diagnosis. The story weaves through her memories as a headstrong teenager, her college days, marriage, motherhood, and most importantly to Genevieve, her career.
Under Water by Rachel Callaghan
Submerged beneath layers of history lies a long-buried secret.
During the pandemic lockdown, Iris Pearl relocates her dulling marriage across the country. Renovating a pre–revolutionary Pennsylvania homestead gives Iris more than she bargained for when she makes a discovery that hurtles her and Benny’s haunted past to the present. Iris is consumed by the desire to know what happened on her property over a century and a half earlier. Her search leads to Irish immigrant Aoife, the wife of Union soldier William. The further she digs into the mystery of Aoife’s fate, the deeper she reaches into her own secret history.
While William serves in the Civil War, Aoife struggles to maintain their farm. Aoife’s only companion is their hired help, Thomas Walker, a freeborn black laborer. Aoife and Thomas toil side by side in the fields, sowing seeds that bear deep-rooted consequences, which come to light centuries later.
Will unearthing the truth about the tragic past, which so closely parallels Iris’s own, free her and Benny from their marriage’s haunted history, or will revisiting that dark time destroy it?
Carousel Plaza by Karen Cino
When Macy inherits a beach house from her aunt, she discovers secret rooms filled with relics from the past — including a dead body. Things get even more complicated when an old flame begins investigating the murder. Macy must find out who the killer is in order to piece together the secrets buried in a diary left for her by her aunt, unleashing the mystery of her past.
Carousel Plaza is a women’s fiction novel set at the New Jersey Shore where the main character is in her early 50s. While Macy deals with her past, she forms a friendship with her next-door neighbor and gets thrown a curve leading to the mystery beneath the carousel.
Middle Women by Paul Garrety writing as Jack Garrety
Three friends, three losses, three new lives.
At 52 Jo is homeless after her husband gambled away their house and her security. Her two friends, the irrepressible, irreverent Kat and sensible-shoes Marion, have also lost partners: one to premature death and the other, adultery. Together, the three friends support each other to take their first hesitant steps towards a new life. A life that promises to be both terrifying and achingly exciting.
Faced with an uncertain future Jo discovers that women over 45 are the fastest-growing homeless sector in Australia. In response the three friends set up an online business to help older homeless women, hiring Mac, an IT specialist and widower burdened by guilt over his late wife’s death.
Jo, like her two friends, must come to terms with the competing needs of an intimate relationship and self-determination.
But all three quickly learn that change, once started, can be slippery and its effects — irrevocable.
What Heals the Heart by Jen Telger
Growing up is never easy. Neither is growing old.
Having spent decades building a life she loved, Cilla Prescott watched it all come crashing down when her beloved husband passed and her best friend of nearly 40 years turned away without explanation. Now alone, bitter and lonely, 70-something Cilla hopes this isn’t how it all ends.
Two houses down, Cilla’s best friend-turned-worst-enemy is feeling much the same, but not for the reasons people think. The eccentric Nattie Dennings won’t let anyone near, scaring children and adults alike whenever someone ventures too close and taking every opportunity to convince the world she’s crazy.
With their feud at a fever pitch, things come to a head for Cilla, Nattie, and their exasperated Maple Street neighbors when an accident threatens one of their own. Can two former best friends forgive and move on before time runs out, or will they drive everyone crazy until the bitter end?
Hard Cider by Barbara Stark-Nemon
Abbie Rose Stone’s acquired wisdom runs deep, and so do her scars. She has successfully navigated the shoals of a long marriage, infertility, challenging children and a career. Now it’s her turn to fulfill her dream of producing hard apple cider along the northern shores of Lake Michigan that she loves.
She resists new versions of the old pull of family dynamics which threaten to derail her plan, but nothing can protect Abbie from the shock a lovely young stranger delivers when she exposes a long-held secret. Abbie must overcome circumstances that severely test her self-determination, her loyalties, and her understanding of who constitutes her true family.