I had absolutely no expectations before going into this book. From the beginning I could tell this was going to be a quiet novel, a character study of 96-year-old Doris reflecting back on her life, through happiness and hardships. It took me a bit to realize the shift in point of view (present is 3rd person and the past is 1st person) was because Doris was writing all of her memories, the good the bad and the ugly, down for her great-grand-niece, Jenny, to read when the time for Doris to go was almost here. While it might have been a bit confusing when parts of Doris' history alternated from one person to another, I could appreciate how it symbolized how we don't just move on from one part of our life to the next - stages can occur simultaneously, without you even knowing. For me, parts of this book dragged, and I did find myself skimming from time to time, but overall I found it to be quite a surprisingly good novel about life, love, and family. If you're interested, I'd say definitely pick it up.