In Conversation with Anna Johnston
Humffray Room
When lemons give you life
Anna Johnston
‘Smart, authentic and full of heart’ – Graeme Simsion
From the author of The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife
Redemption is a dish best served warm…
Retired Michelin-star chef Griff Barlow has lost his appetite for life. Widowed, grieving and living in an aged care facility where beige slop passes for food, Griff is done – with guilt, with loneliness and with the lie that made headlines when he was diagnosed with dementia. Planning one final act, Griff breaks into the nursing home kitchen to cook one last lemon tart. But the simple act of cooking awakens a long-forgotten joy and soon he’s restoring flavour, dignity and delight to his fellow residents. Meanwhile, his estranged sister, Lisa, is grappling with a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis, an unexpected romance and a frightening health reality of her own. As secrets simmer and second chances collide, both siblings are forced to confront what it really means to choose life.
Drawing on Anna Johnston’s experience working in aged care, the novel offers a rare and compassionate perspective on how people diagnosed with dementia are often dismissed, underestimated and quietly erased. By telling the story through the eyes of a man who carries the diagnosis yet remains fully lucid, the book invites readers to experience, from the inside, what it feels like to be unseen.
Described as ‘Ratatouille meets A Man Called Ove’, Anna Johnston’s second novel blends warmth, humour and emotional depth while tackling timely conversations around ageing, dementia, neurodiversity, LGBTQIA+ visibility in aged care, and the power of everyday kindness. It is about being seen, by others, and by ourselves, and about the possibility of reconciliation, healing and second chances at any stage of life.
About the author
This event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard
$11.78 per person includes booking fee & gst, also includes light refreshment. All proceeds go to the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute to support the staging of our author events.
Book on-line or contact Rosemary at the Libary via email library@ballaratmi.org.au or phone (03) 5331 3042
This event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work, learn and create. Always Was, Always Will Be, Aboriginal Land.
