Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers for providing me with a copy of Annie Lyons’ novel, The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett, in exchange for an honest review.

Eudora Honeysett is eight-five years old and done with life. She decides that the most dignified death would be to pursue assisted suicide through a company in Switzerland. The process is not simple. It requires doctors appointments and months of thought, during which Eudora’s otherwise predictable life changes with the addition of new friends, including an unusual little girl named Rose and a fellow senior named Stanley. As Eudora discovers that there might be more to her life than she imagined, she is forced to confront difficult issues in her past.

I loved The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett. It’s an emotional journey that had me in tears for the last quarter of the story. I had to put the book down many times, because I became overcome with emotion. The best, most memorable books are ones that shake me to the core, and Lyons’ characters are sure to stay with me for a long time.

The story alternates between the present and Eudora’s younger years. We learn that trauma from Eudora’s early years has led her to put up walls, to protect herself. Octogenarian Eudora is tough, and even has a difficult time softening towards her cat, Montgomery. Lyons carefully balances the difficult senior Eudora, with the hurt child Eudora, giving us a well-rounded, relatable character.

I was struck by how much Eudora reminded me of my mother-in-law. This is not to say that they had similar situations, but more in the general way that senior Eudora has firm ideas about how a person should behave and tends to discredit activities that others use for joy. I also found my niece, Charis, in the character of Rose. Like my niece, Rose is an absolute force of nature, who gathers other people in her orbit. It’s a wonderful quality in a person, but it also means facing criticism by those less comfortable in their own skin. Eudora tries to resist Rose, but Rose simply won’t let her.

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett is the perfect story to remind us to be compassionate towards others and to remember that we don’t always know the trials that other people face. It’s also a story about the importance of building our own tribe and that blood relatives are not our only family. Lyons has written an absolutely beautiful story with unforgettable characters. She is a new author discovery for me and I was thrilled to learn that she has written many other novels. I look forward to reading them all.