"Flee, Fly, Flown" by Janet Hepburn

Synopsis:
When Lillian and Audrey hatch a plot to escape from Tranquil Meadows Nursing Home, "borrow" a car, and spend their hastily planned vacation time driving to destinations west, they aren't fully aware of the challenges they will face. All they know is that the warm days of August call to them, and the need to escape the daily routines and humiliations of nursing home life has become overwhelming. 
 Flushed with the success of their escape plan, they set out on their journey having forgotten that their memory problems might make driving and following directions difficult. Their trip is almost over before it begins, until they meet up with the unsuspecting Rayne, a young man also heading west in hope of reconciling with his family. 
As Lillian and Audrey try to take back the control that time and dementia has taken from them, Rayne realizes the truth of their situation. But it's too late - he has fallen under the spell of these two funny, brave women and is willing to be a part of their adventure, wherever it leads them.

Review:
The story is told from Lillian's point of view and she has Alzheimer's Disease.  I am lucky never to have had anyone in my family with this disease so I can't verify the validity of the author's portrayal of it.  But if this accurately describes what Alzheimer's Disease is like, I hope I never get it.  I also hope I live a long, active life.  Being young, I can't predict what my future holds but this book has made me think about what kind of old age I would like to have and how I will treat my mother as she ages.

I consider this book to be the Canadian female version of Jonas Jonasson's "The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared" because it's another book about elderly people escaping their nursing home/retirement home/whatever politically correct euphemism you want to use.  It just doesn't have as much suspense and historical events.  "Flee, Fly, Flown" focuses more on the personal lives of the main characters.  Some readers might find the plot somewhat far-fetched simply because it runs primarily on circumstance.

"Flee, Fly, Flown" is one of the titles nominated for the 2014 Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading Evergreen Award.  It is the only title on the shortlist that was/is of any interest to me and I am glad I read it.  It gets my vote!

Read on,
Paula