The Things We Keep

Thirty-eight-year-old Anna Forster has early-onset Alzheimer's disease and lives in a residential care facility where there is one other person her age, Luke. They are drawn to each other and eventually fall in love. In a lucid moment, Anna and Luke promise that they will be together until the end. Anna writes this promise in her journal so she will remember it. When Eve Bennett joins the staff of the facility as cook and cleaner, she becomes especially close to Anna. She can see that Anna and Luke are happiest when they are together. Despite Anna and Luke being physically separated by the staff, Eve secretly allows them to visit each other, until her intervention is discovered. Eve shows the journal entry to Anna's brother and convinces him that love can continue even when memory cannot. This heartbreaking story is replete with humor, sadness, and love. The characters are well rounded and sympathetic. Barrie Kreinik and Therese Plummer do a solid job narrating.