Frederick Fife is a down-on-his-luck widower, facing eviction after spending his life savings on his late wife's cancer treatment. He comes across a deceased individual while walking in the park and the next thing he knows, people are calling him "Bernard" and sweeping him off to a nursing home. Fred tries to tell people that it is all a mistake, but given his striking resemblance to Bernard and the fact that Bernard had been diagnosed with dementia, no one believes him. The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife follows Fred's journey uncovering Bernard's past, building relationships with his fellow residents & staff, and ultimately, the consequences of his actions.

This was such a wonderful story; equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming. I found myself continuously rooting for Fred, Kevin, Lin, and even Denise. Hannah's character was so raw and real, what she was going to was incredibly relatable. While the book explores themes of family, forgiveness, and belonging, it also tackles much heavier topics such as infertility, addiction, financial insecurity, and grief. Through it all, each and every character is so well developed, relatable, and connected to each other.

I originally rated it 4 stars, but changed it to 4.5 upon further reflection. It truly made me feel all the feels, which is hard to do. I don't know what else to say other than it is an emotional, heartfelt, thought provoking, incredible read. Highly recommend.

My book club read this as our August read and we all loved it. From thriller fans to romance fans we all fell for Frederick and his personality and spirit. As a big fan of the octogenarian found family trope this one was especially heartwarming and a home run.
Frederick is a character you can cheer for, but the book was balanced nicely with some characters that just made you want to scream and show some growth.

What a heartwarming story!! Fred, a lonely elderly man down on his luck runs into a group at a park near the Waddle River Nursing Home and accidentally becomes “Bernard” a resident of the home. Fred becomes friends and helps others in home have better relationships. He also builds a relationship with Bernard’s estranged daughter which causes the reader to consider what relationships can be considered family.

What a sweet book. And also had me reminiscing on the time I worked in a nursing home!

This was a whimsical, heartfelt story about Frederick Fife, who ends up getting mistaken as grumpy Bernard Greer. Frederick is on the brink of being homeless, and Bernard lives in a nursing home. Fred is tired of trying to convince people that he's not actually Bernard and decides to embrace it.

I enjoyed going on this adventure with Fred. There were quite a few moments that had me smiling. There were also a handful of side characters that made this book so good. The residents and the staff were just so fun and made me feel like I was going along this ride with Fred.

I'd recommend this one if you're a fan of found family, quirky characters, and a story that will tug on your heartstrings!

Frederick Fife didn’t mean to take over the life of a dead man; it was all just a silly misunderstanding. When he visits the beach the day he’s to be tossed out of his small apartment, he ends up being taken to a nursing home in the place of a dead man in a wheelchair. He tries to tell them he’s not Bernard, but apparently Bernard wasn’t in his right mind. After a few days, he just decides to stay at the home, where he has a roof over his head and plenty of good food.

Besides food and shelter, being at Bernard’s nursing home gives Frederick people to befriend. Frederick has always had a big heart, and it does him good to share it with the people around him, both fellow residents and employees of the home. Being welcomed and befriended helps fill the big hole left in his heart since his wife died.

The plot thickens, however, when one employee starts to get suspicious and puts some pieces together about Frederick-as-Bernard. And when someone from Bernard’s past shows up, Frederick has to decide what’s truly going to be the best for everyone involved.

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is a charming, heartwarming novel. Frederick is a goodhearted, kind, generous man, and it’s a pleasure to share in his point of view for the length of the story. When he feels lonely and sad, you just cheer him on. When the situation gets complicated, you hope that everything can work out for every single person involved. It’s so sweet to see the impact Frederick has on each person he meets, so you particularly want the goodness to come right back to him.

Just delightful. You’ll want to *borrow* this from the library right away… or buy it.

Such a lovely little book! There are lots of heartwarming situations, and the reader gets to watch the development of friendships in unexpected places. The author has included lots of laugh-out-loud parts which really added an extra dimension to the story. And I loved Fred!!

However, there was a little surprise in about the middle of the book, but instead of thinking it was a clever twist, I felt instead like the author had tricked me into believing something that wasn’t right. It really didn’t add anything to the story (besides aggravate me!), and I felt like it took away from the reading experience.

The beginning of the book is a little TOO coincidental to be true, but hey, it’s fiction - it’s okay to include stuff like that!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC!

One of the most heartfelt books I’ve read in 2024.

Fred is about at his rock bottom. He lost his wife a decade ago following a battle with cancer and dwindling funds has now left him newly homeless at 82.

While contemplating his new future on a walk, he finds a man dead in his wheelchair at a riverfront park on a nursing home outing. A strange series of occurrences and the odd similarity between the two men lead to Fred being mistaken for the dead man and taken to the home.

No explanation on his part is taken seriously so he decides to settle in to this new life as this stranger.

In this new life he finds new purpose in new connections.

But can he continue to live as someone he’s not? Especially when it turns out the stranger whose life he took over wasn’t as alone as he thought.

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is the ultimate found family story. In this novel, we meet down on his luck, 82 year old Fred - he has lost his wife, been evicted from his rental, and is trying to figure out how he will get by when something crazy and unexpected happens that changes the course of the remainder of his life.

The remainder of the novel is heartwarming and loving. He makes amazing friends and meets new family in such unexpected places. This novel was beautifully written and so touching. If you like Ethan Joella’s novels, this book is definitely for you! Love this story so much!! Just what I needed to read!

“If there is one thing I’ve learnt in life, it’s to not wait to say things. As we both know, life is short, sometimes unexpectedly short.”

Ummm I have a question…WHY IS THIS BOOK NOT GETTING MORE LOVE?!

Sorry for yelling but ohh my heart. What an absolutely perfect, heartfelt, sweet, lovely, and endearing story. Gahh I just love old people. So many times I wanted to pop inside these pages and just squeeze poor Fred. We need more men in the world like him. I couldn’t possibly recommend this more!

Thank you to Netgalley, William Morrow Books, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts

netgalley arc thank u netgalley!
anyway let’s talk about this
so much to say yet i can’t articulate most of it
i enjoyed this book so much, for me it was insane watching fredrick fife wear someone else’s skin for so long and watching him affect all the relationships around him some for better some for worse
honestly a great read everyone should check it out

I loved this book! Anna Johnston has combined heartbreak and humor in perfect proportion and created a story that shows the true nature of love and family. The characters were delightful. The challenges were very real. The relationships were touching. I highly recommend this book and look forward to more from this author. Thanks #NetGalley #WilliamMorrow

What a beautiful, touching story about a once in a life time chance to live in someone’s shoes (literally) and impact the people around you. I loved Mr. Frederick Fife from the very beginning and just the absurdity of having a doppelgänger was fun to read. It got so emotional throughout the rest of the story and I even found myself tearing up sometimes. He has such a big heart full of love but lost all the people closest to him, and he finally got a chance to share this love with others. Hannah’s innocence turned anger was also written very well and I felt the inner conflict she had alongside her as she worked out how she felt about everything. It wasn’t predictable nor was it boring. Definitely one of my top 2024 reads.

I loved the Australian setting and the overall premise of Frederick being mistaken for Bernard and stepping into his life.

So many great novels along the lines have come before such as a “man called Ove”, “Tuesdays with Maury”, “Lillian boxfish takes a walk”, “Bettyville”, and the movie UP! But this novel is brilliant enough to stand on its own with its wit, humor, and most of all because of each character’s humanity. Book of the Year contender.

What a fabulous, heart warming book! Eighty plus year old Fred finds himself in a precarious position when he is mistaken for another elderly man at a retirement home. Without any friends or family of his own, his new life enables him to share his big heart with others. This is a book I wish I could read again and again for the first time.

Heartwarming and hilarious, a touching story of family and forgiveness. I loved the joyful tone, the beautiful interpersonal connections, and the satisfying resolution. Try this one when you need a pick me up!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

This is a lovely heart warming read of mistaken identity and found family. The author has a talent for engaging the reader and also keeping us guessing with some bits of mysteries unfolding. Very well done

Ultimately, I wasn’t the right reader for this book (at least at this time). I just felt bad and a little grossed out with all the pee talk from the get-go but that’s probably just a me problem.

This was such a sweet, heartwarming and also heart breaking book.

It follows Frederick who after a case of mistaken identity begins living in a retirement community. He somewhat takes on the identity of this other man, and builds new friendships with other residents.

This book was so cozy. I loved Frederick and his personality. How we wanted to help everyone else.

I didn’t quite love the other storyline with Denise. It didn’t really feel necessary. And at the beginning I didn’t really understand the purpose of Hannah’s life as a child. It also felt like that part could have been shortened.

But overall this was lovely and touching. If you like books such as A Man Called Ove, you’ll enjoy this one too.

I thought this was sweet and lovely. Frederick is a joy of a man and I really enjoyed getting to know him and watch him make the people around him happier just by bringing his loving self to their lives. There are some heavier topics in the novel, but they are handled with kindness and care and only served as things that the characters were able to move through. This is mostly a feel good story and I enjoyed it a lot.