This delightful story has two settings for our main character Augusta Stern: her father’s pharmacy in Brooklyn during the 1920s and a Florida retirement facility in the 1980s. The story begins with Augusta Stern forced into retirement due to her age and relocating from Brooklyn to Florida. Shortly after arriving, Augusta learns that two of the most eligible bachelors at the retirement facility were boys she grew up with in Brooklyn. Quickly their interactions become a source of gossip among the residents.
Meanwhile, we also learn how Augusta grew up wanting to be a pharmacist like her father but struggling to find her way in what was considered a man’s world. Augusta’s father supported her in her education, but she was often met with opposition from patients all the while the mob was trying to work its way into business with pharmacies in their neighborhood. This part of the story happens during Prohibition when alcohol was outlawed but pharmacies could distribute whiskey with a prescription.
When Augusta was young, she lost her mother to diabetes just weeks before insulin was discovered. To help with their loss, her Great Aunt Esther moved from the old country to come and help take care of Augusta and her older sister. Great Aunt Esther brought with her many old traditions, and before long other women in the neighborhood sought out Esther’s help with ailments when the doctors would dismiss their concerns.
Augusta, already on track to become a pharmacist, also learns from Esther and combines her skills to try and help as many people as possible. However, one night Augusta decides to give the young man she loves an elixir to find out if he loves her back, and this self-serving decision sets the course of many lives for the next 60 years.
I chose this book as a palate cleanser from the types of stories I usually read. Augusta was a feisty character who had me cheering for her from the very beginning. A coming-of-age story, while also dealing with the golden years of life, was a beautiful blend alongside the historical fiction and romance aspects of this book. If you enjoy The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern, you may also enjoy The Wedding People by Alison Espach or The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young.
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