Anna Johnston is the author of the new novel The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Q: What inspired you to write The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife, and how did you create your protagonist, Fred?
A: I was over halfway through medical school when I discovered that my true fulfillment lay in aged care. When my grandfather and best friend Fred was diagnosed with dementia, I changed career paths and took a job at his nursing home so we could spend more time together.
Pa was a wordsmith and an inspiration to me as a writer. Right up until his early 80s, he wrote poetry and letters for my gorgeous grandmother, Dawn. When dementia took away that ability, I became his pen and helped him write to her, so he could continue loving her in the way I knew he wanted to.
After an injury left me unable to return to aged care, I began to write about it, channelling my experience and love for older people onto the page.
People over 80 are vastly underrepresented in literature, so I wanted to create not just an elderly character, but a much-needed elderly hero who inspires hope and shows that, unlike eyesight, worth and purpose don’t diminish with age.
My grandfather provided the perfect inspiration, and my protagonist Fred not only shares his name but also his cheeky, selfless, and endearing nature.
Pa had countless strengths, but his poker face wasn’t one of them! He was so honest and full of integrity that he even found it hard to play a card game that required bluffing.
Plot stems from conflict, so I contemplated what would happen if you placed such a man in a situation where he was desperate enough to deceive (if he believed he wasn’t hurting anyone).
Doppelgängers and cases of mistaken identity have always fascinated me. I began developing the idea of one man being able to redeem another man’s life, even after death. The story grew quickly from there.
As well as embodying my grandfather on the page, I also wanted to capture the epic love that he and my gorgeous grandmother Dawn shared. The plot, setting and characters in the novel are fictional, but the love is entirely real.
Q: The writer Amy Meyerson said of the novel, “A life-affirming and hilarious tale of mistaken identity, The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife insists that it's never too late for a second chance.” What do you think of that description?
A: I am delighted with that description! “Life-affirming” and “hilarious” are exactly what I was aiming for in my writing. I’ve read some wonderfully funny light-hearted books in this genre that weren’t particularly deep and some excellent heart-stirring books that had little humour. I wanted to turn up the volume on both fronts!
They say, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” To make lemonade you need sugar, and for me, humour is that sugar making the unbearable, bearable. I wanted to shed light on some heart-breaking issues, such as grief, dementia, and aging, but use humour as a vehicle to bring the reader through to an uplifting ending.
I am passionate about positive aging and believe that we remain capable of growth, and change (and second chances!) at any stage of our lives if we are open to it.
Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Fred and Denise? What about Fred and Hannah?
A: Fred is compassionate towards everyone he meets, including the antagonist of the story, Denise. Although she doesn’t treat him or the other residents with respect or dignity, Fred’s kindness towards her is unwavering. In his own words, “I’ve yet to meet a person in my eighty-two years who is irredeemable.”
Denise dismisses Fred, rendering him invisible like many older people in society. Fred always gives people the benefit of the doubt and sees her behaviour as symptoms of something deeper.
Without going into any spoilers, the relationship between Fred and Hannah is a (non-romantic) love story, but like any interesting love story, it is fraught with complications, particularly owing to Fred’s hidden identity.
Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: The novel went through a few titles before we landed on the current one, which I adore! I chose this title because it sparks curiosity and plays with the idea of walking in another man’s shoes.
Fred epitomises kindness and is the sort of man who returns things in better condition than when he found them, including lives! This is really what the book is about—how Fred returns a broken life to mint condition.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m currently working on my second book, set for release in the US in early 2025. It centers on Griff, a retired Michelin star chef who lives in a nursing home, widowed, depressed, and determined to depart this earth.
Unwilling to let the flavorless mush served at the home be the last thing he tastes, he breaks into the kitchen to cook himself a final meal, sparking a long-forgotten joy and an unexpected chain of events.
Fifty-year-old Lisa harbors a shameful secret. During her weekly visits to her stepbrother, who suffers from dementia, she unexpectedly falls in love with an older man. Their relationship is put to the test as Lisa begins to show signs of a genetic kidney disease that claimed her mother’s life before she could find a donor.
As their stories converge, the heat is turned up while Lisa fights to hold onto life and Griff seeks a reason to embrace it. It’s a story about the power of food, purpose, visibility, and connection.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: More than anything, I hope that The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife inspires kindness–something I think we could all use a little more of. We have started a #spreadthefred hashtag on socials to promote this idea!
Many readers have expressed their desire to see Fred on the screen. As a movie buff whose love of writing comes from a childhood spent penning plays and short films, this has also been my goal from the start. Now that my dreams have begun merging with reality, I am starting to believe that anything is possible!
As well as being an author, I am a positive aging advocate who is passionate about representation of older people in the arts. You can read more about this on my website: www.annajohnstonauthor.com
I also love hearing from readers! Please follow me on socials @annajohnstonauthor / Anna Johnston Author for more updates!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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