A Senior Love Story: Love Never Dies by Richard E. Corey is not your typical read. It unfolds chronologically but has no chapters. The prose is minimal, the dialogue expansive. It is not particularly literary. There is not much character development. The author himself says, “This is not the great American novel.”
So what is it and why are we writing about it?
There are 46 million Americans over 65 years old. Here’s a personal memoir, in all its narrative, written to give hope to those battling the physical and emotional realities of their age.
It’s a first-person account of a love affair gone bad that tries to resurrect itself 30 years later. It is written by a senior citizen sharing his day-to-day thoughts and activities, struggling with the fact that he is older than he once was and hanging onto the hope that something he once had might still have a flickering light. The hope in this work is that other seniors can relate, learn from Corey’s experiences and take comfort from his words.
This book is raw. It is real. It is true.
Richard and Elaine were married for 14 years. They divorced and hadn’t seen each other in 30 years. With some prodding from his sister, Richard reconnects with Elaine, and they do a slow tap dance of getting reacquainted, finding they still love each other, and battling the demons that might forever keep them apart. Much of the dialogue is mundane, describing the minutiae and everyday moments of seniorhood. Can the writing get taxing? Yes. Is it believable? Yes. Is it relatable to many of those 46 million seniors living similar existences? Hopefully.
The narration takes us through the author’s heart attack, his recovery and Elaine’s ongoing battle with alcoholism, the latter becoming a central issue on whether the two can eventually stay together.
“We all hear about love stories from the past,” says Corey. “Couples who were teenage sweethearts, who grew their own ways. Their marriages end in divorce or their loved ones pass. They contact past lost loves. It is so easy to find past broken hearts. They find each other after all the years. They realize there is still a spark there. Lost love is still in their hearts.”
“I began writing this story after we first started seeing each other again in January 2015,” says Corey. “Elaine was excited about the idea of our love story as a book. She was lonely and I was lonely. It was clear we still had feelings for each other. When I told her I was going to write this with all the details, she said go for it.”
The story is very personal – from dining rooms to bedrooms to, yes, bathrooms. “Maybe I was to trying to help Elaine stop drinking. She has it in her to stop. It’s hard as we all know to beat an addiction. You need help most of the time.”
“Here we are in our golden years just wanting to be happy, in good health and share the rest of our lives with someone we love,” says Corey. “Is love stronger than habits?”
“I wrote this book to help other seniors with health issues. Don’t give up – I survived and you can too.”
A Senior Love Story: Love Never Dies is available for purchase.
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ABOUT RICHARD E. COREY:
Richard E. Corey has written about 12 books, many directed toward the young reader. He is
