Book ~ "When Lemons Give You Life" (2026) Anna Johnston

From Goodreads ~ Retired Michelin-star chef Griff Barlow has lost his appetite. He’s done with grief, guilt and the beige slop they dare call food at Sunny Glen Aged Care Facility, where he now resides.

Six decades of life have given him all the lemons he can handle so he breaks into the nursing home kitchen to bake himself one last tart. It’s supposed to be his final meal but the act of cooking stirs a dormant joy. Soon he’s regularly sneaking in after dark, serving up flavor and comfort to fellow residents, who, in turn, begin to come alive with each bite of Griff's delicious concoctions. Yet behind the apron is a lie so big it could destroy the one thing Griff has left to protect.

Lisa, the only family and visitor Griff has, is clueless to what's happening behind the closed kitchen doors. Their sibling relationship fractured long ago, plus she has her own navigating an ADHD diagnosis in middle age, the spark of a new romance, and unexpected news that might change life as she knows it. Any hope of reconciliation between the two is long gone, buried in the silence between them.

But the truth has a way of boiling over, and when secrets, soufflés and second chances collide, Griff and Lisa may discover a recipe for forgiveness.

Griff isn’t happy with life at Sunny Glen Aged Care. He’s pretending to have dementia and has reached the point where he’s considering ending his life. But when he sneaks into the nursing home kitchen one night to make himself a lemon tart, something changes. Cooking reminds him of how much he used to enjoy food and sharing it with other people. He starts secretly cooking meals for the residents, bringing some excitement into their otherwise routine days. As he gets more involved with the people around him, Griff begins to reconnect with life while continuing to hide his secret. 

Meanwhile, Lisa, his sister, is dealing with changes of her own. She’s recently been diagnosed with ADHD in middle age, has started a new relationship and is facing some unexpected developments in her life. She continues to visit Griff, who she thinks has dementia, despite the complicated and strained relationship between them. 

This is the second book I've read by this author. I really enjoyed her first one, The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife ... this one was just okay. I found it was a bit too long and draggy at times and could have been tighter.  It's written in third person perspective, alternating in Griff and Lisa's voice and bounces back and forth between present day and the past (the chapters are labeled).

There was so much (too much!) going on ... being shamed at a young age for being gay, gay marriage, early onset dementia, death of a spouse, adult diagnosis of ADHD, suicide, a life threatening illness, domestic violence, keeping family secrets, a seven food man with anxiety, nursing homes being run poorly and ripping off their residents and more!