Count On Me

by Ann Cavlovic

Count on Me exposes how a family can fracture when aging parents grow frail and debts from the past resurface. Tia is raising a baby when her older brother Tristan gradually takes over their ailing parents’ bank account, house, and medical decisions. Through a web of complex family dynamics, Tia uncovers the disaster left by Tristan’s meddling in their parents’ lives. As Tia tries to set things straight, she confronts how money and love were entangled in her family, and whether her own mothering now goes to opposite extremes. Told in an intelligent and hopeful voice, this is a story about sibling rivalry, elder abuse, how life can become transactional, and how we come to feel entitled to someone else’s money.

357 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2025

About the author

Count on Me is Ann Cavlovic's first novel. Her short fiction and creative nonfiction have appeared in numerous Canadian literary journals and magazines. She lives and writes in Western Quebec.

Reviews

[Stephanielikesbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC.

[Whatithinkaboutthisbook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Count On Me by Ann Cavlovic
Pub Date: Sept 29/25

This story - the writing and the character of Tia - gripped me immediately. I was emotionally drawn in and couldn’t put the book down. It was emotionally layered, heartfelt and deeply relatable. I often felt tense and overwhelmed while reading it, which speaks to the emotional power of the narrative.

Tia is a single mother to an infant daughter, while navigating the growing health concerns of her aging parents. Making the “right” decisions for them is complicated by a family history marked by poor parenting, deep seated grudges and her suspicion that her brother may be taking advantage of their vulnerability.

This book is extraordinarily relatable. Readers will connect with the authenticity of Tia’s struggles as a mother, daughter and sibling. Cavlovic portrays the emotional and physical toil of parenting an infant alone with realism, compassion, humor and depth. The intense desire to provide a better experience for your child than you had, especially when your own upbringing was traumatic, is vivid and powerfully portrayed. Tia’s inner world of self-doubt, guilt, triggered memories and the constant questioning of choices feels achingly real.

Cavlovic masterfully weaves together Tia’s therapy sessions, her recollections of childhood, family stories about her parent’s past, and her present day experiences to create a rich and compelling narrative. The novel explores the generational impact of trauma, the challenges of parenthood, the complexity of family dynamics, and the emotional toll of guilt, shame, people-pleasing and the ever present pressure to do the “right thing”.

Tia is a messy, complicated wonderful character with a fascinating job to boot. This is a compelling story that feels deeply personal like you’re walking alongside of her every step of the way.

[C.E. Crowder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tia has never been one to lay blame at her parents' door, but as both of them become eligible for nursing homes she begins to reflect on the relationship she's had with them, particularly with her mother. Other stresses pile on and she turns to counseling, which helps shed further light on the contrast and parallels between her past and the stories her mother has told her about prior generations.

It's not an ideal time for personal reflection. Her brother is wresting control over their parents' finances. Tia's job is laced with ethical problems. Most importantly, she is single-parenting her two-year-old daughter and stressing all the while that she's doing it wrong. Several of Tia's thoughts as she deals with all this led to some reflecting of my own. A choice lies before her: to meet neglect and spite with the same, or maintain the harder path of identifying and doing what's right.

The story is approached in a remarkably even-handed way, events unspooling in an intricate sequence where nothing is black-and-white. I was impressed with Tia's handling of her difficult circumstances throughout, even when she was doubting herself. My child-rearing days are over and my parents still independent, so this novel offered a mix of nostalgia and cautionary notes. There's good education here about alternative care and legal hazards. If the need arises I hope I'm able to navigate it all with Tia's aplomb and her admirable readiness to accept help when it's offered.

[Maria]

Heartfelt and thought provoking. A beautiful story about complicated family dynamics, and compassion for yourself and your loved ones, even when they are hard to love

[Shirley Hay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story of complex family dynamics, elder abuse, and the effects of greed. It is both tragic and hopeful, and these well-drawn characters - realistic and questioning and difficult - are not ones any reader will likely soon forget.

The protagonist, Tia, a young single mother to a baby, is the poster-child of the sandwich generation with her two aging parents in declining health. Her brother Tristen, ten years her senior, along with his girlfriend, seize the opportunity to seek control of their parents’ assets, and at every opportunity they push Tia out of the decision-making process and communication channels. Further complexity exists with the parents, Vera and Antin, who waffle between opposing Tristen's actions, and acquiescing to him, believing his assertions that Tia is the one out for power and money.

As a reader, I was very quick to become invested in Tia. I rooted for her as she tried to care for the unrelenting needs of a young child while also working full time, dealing with inaccessible systems, and trying to counter her brother’s actions with reason and fairness. At many points in this novel I wanted to shout at Tia to just walk away, let them deal with each other and focus her care on her own young daughter. Of course, walking away is always easier said than done in families, and the fact that Tia battled with that very thing is one of the ways her character is so complex.

But I think the most fascinating part of the novel is Cavlovic’s reflection on the intergenerational effects of war. Both Vera and Antin, descending from Poland, were deeply traumatized by the second world war. Tia understands this, noting “war is not healthy for children and other living things” when trying to understand her parents. Tia seeks to be a loving and caring daughter, but her parents are often cold, dismissive, demanding, and hurtful in return. This complex parent-child relationship, characterized by both love and anger, is well examined in this novel. The broader commentary it makes on what happens to entire populations or generations that have faced such hardships as war, starvation, genocide, or separation from parents, is an astute reflection that speaks volumes in our current time.

This novel is not only well-written, but insightful and important as the world faces enormous challenges that are affecting children daily. Perhaps if we understood it all better, we might work to mitigate the effects of war and unrest on present and future generations. Through a story of family, the very place we all begin, this novel brings those questions to the forefront, insisting that we care.

[Faith Mansfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stayed up too late to finish this one, which is always a good sign!
I love a book that has a number of themes woven skillfully together so that the story is complex but not confusing or pedantic. Count on Me did this beautifully. The main storyline focuses on siblings and parents as those parents get older, especially with respect to money and decision making powers. But there were also strands of the story that touched on parenting choices, friendship, integrity and power in the workplace, and how we tell our own story. So much in this book was easy to relate to, in a way that raised questions, rather than just confirming my own point of view. Tia is a loveable main character, full of self-questioning like most of us, but committed to her own life and happiness.
I also loved the use of metaphor in this book - a number of the visual metaphors will stay with me as I continue to ponder the issues in the book and go through them myself in real life.
There would be so much here for a book club to discuss. Highly recommend.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to @river_street_writes & @anncavlovic for the gifted copy.

This book is good in the sense that it sneaks up on you. You don’t even realize how far you’ve read until you look up. We follow Tia, who’s raising a child while watching her sibling gradually take over the care of their parents. It’ll rile you up and get you going because it really stirs things up. There’s this undertone of guilt in so many of the situations, and I think a lot of people can relate to that. It feels especially personal if you grew up in a culture where you’re expected to care for your parents no matter what. There’s also this unspoken guilt around people feeling like others owe them something just because they did one favor. It’s not a flashy book, but what I really liked is that it feels real and raw. It doesn’t end with some huge, dramatic plot twists, but it’s definitely a good read and one that’s worth your time.

[Wayne Ng · Rating 5 out of 5]

Count On Me is one of those rare novels that feels lived-in and true. Cavlovic captures the juggling act so many of us know too well: caring for aging parents while raising kids, holding down work, and trying not to fall apart in the process. The protagonist — Tia — possesses a sharp voice, vulnerabile, yet also quiet in humour. The book’s power comes from all the small, ordinary details that carry whole histories—the hospital forms, the family arguments, the objects we cling to or let go.
What I appreciated most is the authenticity. The story doesn’t tidy up the messiness of memory loss, sibling tensions, or the long shadows of past harm. Instead, it sits with them, patiently and with heart. It’s not a flashy read, but a humane and resonant one. If you value character-driven fiction that’s unafraid of the emotional grey zones, Count On Me is a courageous journey worth every page.

[Ann Cavlovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

see other version for all the reviews (this is a duplicate entry)