Introduction

It's never too late for new beginnings.

On the cusp of turning eighty, newly retired pharmacist Augusta Stern is adrift. When she relocates to Rallentando Springs?an active senior community in southern Florida?she unexpectedly crosses paths with Irving Rivkin, the delivery boy from her father’s old pharmacy?and the man who broke her heart sixty years earlier.

As a teenager growing up in 1920’s Brooklyn, Augusta’s role model was her father, Solomon Stern, the trusted owner of the local pharmacy and the neighborhood expert on every ailment. But when Augusta’s mother dies and Great Aunt Esther moves in, Augusta can’t help but be drawn to Esther’s curious methods. As a healer herself, Esther offers Solomon’s customers her own advice?unconventional remedies ranging from homemade chicken soup to a mysterious array of powders and potions.

As Augusta prepares for pharmacy college, she is torn between loyalty to her father and fascination with her great aunt, all while navigating a budding but complicated relationship with Irving. Desperate for clarity, she impulsively uses Esther’s most potent elixir with disastrous consequences. Disillusioned and alone, Augusta vows to reject Esther’s enchantments forever.

Sixty years later, confronted with Irving, Augusta is still haunted by the mistakes of her past. What happened all those years ago and how did her plan go so spectacularly wrong? Did Irving ever truly love her or was he simply playing a part? And can Augusta reclaim the magic of her youth before it’s too late?

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Excerpt

ONE

JUNE 1987



Augusta Stern did not want to retire. She had no interest in learning to knit, studying a new language, or filling her plate at some overcrowded cruise ship buffet. She did not want to “slow down,” take “time for herself,” or surrender to any other nonsensical euphemism designed to make her feel better about being made to give up the work she’d been doing for most of her life. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

From the publisher:

1. How did it feel to read about active, witty, fun-loving eighty-plus-year-old characters getting a second chance at romance? What do you think this novel suggests about the correlation between age and a person’s spirit, and about hope and time?

2. What role do memories place in this novel? How do Augusta’s memories of her mother and Aunt Esther, and even her past with Irving, affect her present day?

3. On page 96, Esther tells Augusta, “My mother and grandmother had kept their skills private, but I chose to share mine with others. Many in my village were grateful to me, especially when my powders cured them of illness.” What does this quote suggest about the importance of sharing our gifts with others, even if they set us apart?

4. One theme woven throughout The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is the power of words. Discuss a time when words or stories have significantly impacted you.

5. Augusta “believed in medicine and in miracles…She believed in the power of moonlight in kitchens, in the power of women, in the power of words” (page 304). What do you think the novel suggests about recognizing gray areas, rather than thinking purely in black and white?

6. What role does grief play in Augusta’s and Solomon’s lives, and in their relationship? Compare and contrast how Augusta, Solomon, and Bess each react to grief.

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