The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman @lloigman @gabracadabranyc @gabracadabra.bsky.social @macmillan.audio #TheLoveElixirOfAugustaStern

the setup…
Pharmacist Augusta Stern is about to turn eighty and is forced to retire (she’d fudged her age by ten years). She’s lived in Brooklyn her entire life and has no plan for what’s next so her beloved niece Jackie convinces her to relocate to a vibrant senior community in Rallentando Springs, Florida. On her first day, she has a chance encounter with Irving Rivkin, a man she hasn’t seen in over sixty years. He’s also the man who broke her heart and she’s not in the mood for a reunion or forgiveness.

the heart of the story…
The story unfolds with flashbacks to 1922 Brooklyn where Augusta worked in her father Solomon’s pharmacy. He welcomed her in the shop, teaching her everything and fostering her own plan to become a pharmacist and work by his side. When her mother died, Great Aunt Esther came to live with them, bringing her knowledge of home and herb remedies that were a fascination to Augusta but a point of conflict with Solomon. Irving was the delivery boy for the pharmacy and much more to Augusta until something fractured. Flash forward to 1987 and the Augusta’s clearly not over Irving and he’s very interested in reconnecting.

the narration…
Gabra Zackman did a wonderful job of handling the young and mature voice for Augusta. She’s a talented storyteller who managed those transitions with ease and clarity.

the bottom line…
I learned from the author’s afterward that this story is based on her own relative and that made me appreciate this even more as a woman pharmacist in the 1920s was extraordinary. They say we revert to our childhood natures as we age and Augusta quite often reacted to Irving as if she was a teen. Aunt Esther’s healing remedies bordered on the mystical but I know from my own great grandmother who was renowned for the same thing that it was probably more about their expertise with botanicals. I loved everything about this elaborately layered and unique “coming of age” story.

Book Info

• Release Date: October 8, 2024
• Narrator: Gabra Zackman
• Audio Length: 10 hours, 18 minutes
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Listen to a Sample!

Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm