Lily Harford's Last Request by Joanna Buckley

Lily Harford's Last Request by Joanna Buckley

Published February 2022 Harper Collins

Blurb:

Lily Harford is nearing the end of her once joyful life - and for her, it can't come soon enough. Who will have the courage, kindness and love to grant her last request? A compassionate and heartfelt story for readers of Jodi Picoult, Tricia Stringer and Fiona Lowe.

Lily Harford's last request is a big one...help me to die.  And this is how the book starts, with Lily's death.

From the start, we go all the way back to the beginning, exploring Lily's life until she finally ends up in a nursing home.

Three strong women, play a part in this book, Lily, her daughter Pauline, and the carer from the nursing home, Donna,  whose stories are told in alternate chapters, but come together to form the story of Lily's last months. 

The stories of the different characters are woven together beautifully.   While Lily may be at the end of her life, a life well lived, Pauline and Donna look back on their own lives, and look toward the future, learning from Lily that you are in charge of your life...it is what you choose to make of it, so make it a good one.

Throughout the book, the reader is always aware that one of these characters helped Lily to die...but it's (as you can probably guess) not until the end of the book that find out who.