Maud has dementia (or a similar disease) and we follow Maud as she tries to figure out what happened to her beloved friend. This triggers in Maud's memory when her sister Sukey went missing after World War 2.

This was a very powerful read about the effect a cloudy mind can have on a person. Maude is suffering from serious dementia (or Alzheimer's) and every day is a struggle for her. No task is ever completed. Concentration is nonexistent and her mind and thoughts skip around like a DJ playing hip-hop on speed. Her best friend, Elizabeth is missing. Or is it her sister, Sukey? The stories and event recaps that span a period of over 70 years are so haphazardly intermingled within the book that at times I had to assess my own mental clarity. In all honesty, I wouldn't have had it any other way because it made the confusion that Maude felt every day that much more real and agonizing. I actually felt fear and a sense of helplessness for her as I spent an hour with her just walking to the store for eggs and returning with peaches.

For the most part I just wanted to cry for her. My own mother recently suffered a very severe stroke that has left her a vague shadow of who she was. Couple the physical limitations with the mid-stages of Alzheimer's and I got an up close view of what a typical day must be for her after reading this book. Perhaps it is not a book for everyone, but it did my heart good to read it. Hopefully it has brought to light the need for unlimited patience and understanding when dealing with a mind that has been wounded. Perhaps it just re-iterated that there will come a day when all of us may find that our "Elizabeth is missing". May we all be lucky enough to have compassionate caregivers who will walk that journey by our side when the time comes.

It's hard to believe that Emma Healey is a young woman. She captures what it must be like to live with Alzheimers in such a way that you believe you are the main character with all the confusion and sudden awareness of an actual person with dementia. Wonderful job and worthy of the Costa award.

Sad and descriptive