Better Days

by Kate Kasten

Helen and Cal Earlywine, in their early '70s, are the last of generations to work their rural Iowa farm. Their beloved son Tom was to have carried on the tradition, but, twenty-six years ago at age twenty, he met a sudden death. Now, when much more of life lies behind them than in front of them, Helen and Cal must face the reverberations of Tom's death and the somehow surprising, though always inevitable, sabotage of old age--Cal's deteriorating hip, Helen's sister's increasing dementia. Enter Nancy Bannister, relentless town booster and manipulator of a hapless town council. Nancy is determined to plant an income-producing corn maze park on the field where Tom died. Her maneuverings and machinations force Helen and Cal to rethink the future that lies before them.

Genres: Fiction

324 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 11, 2013

Reviews

[JeanAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read the De-Conversion of Kit Lamb and Ten Small Beds by Kate Kasten, appreciating and enjoying each one. Kasten's Better Days may be my favorite but probably because of the circumstances under which I read it. I read Better Days aloud, in installments, to my dear, dear friend, Mildred. Millie is 97 and living in a care center. Reading, sharing this book, set in rural, small town Iowa with familiar Iowa scenes and experiences, together was delightful.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The detail in this gentle contemporary story of a farm family in rural Iowa is pitch perfect.

[Sandra de Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story set in Iowa of a family dealing with Alzheimer's. Kate's characters are so well-drawn you think you know them. The book is heart-warming, and pulls the reader in immediately.