Fireside: The James Johnson Story: A Novel

by Dee Britt

“A sweet, beautiful story with fabulous characters and a powerful Value your elders who, beneath their wrinkles, embody fascinating stories of heroism, humor, and perseverance.”—Award-Winning Author, Alicia Dean“A powerful reminder that love can move mountains. Through adversity, we find strength. Through self-discovery, we understand. Britt's Fireside series lets us celebrate the lives lived and the lives lost. A triumphant read!”—Amy M. Le, Award-Winning Author of Snow in The James Johnson Story Imagine a place where retired cops eat breakfast with con artists and preachers dine with bootleggers, enjoying each other, living side by side. It's not an impossible dream. It's a place called Fireside Assisted Living Center in Atlanta, The James Johnson Story is the first of the Fireside series and mirrors this diverse environment. Ginger, a rebellious redheaded nurse who hides her tattoos and jeans with a crisp lab coat by day and shoots tequila on the dance floor at night, directs Fireside. Endeared by her patients, Ginger has more compassion and clinical skill in one red nail extension than all the other nurses combined. This book focuses on Fireside resident James Johnson, a black sharecropper's son, who falls in love with his high school sweetheart, Estelle, a white girl from a broken home. Many years later, shortly after Estelle passes away, James arrives at Fireside to rehabilitate after a leg amputation. James's one remaining passion in life is to return to the home where he and Estelle built their life together.Like the book Fried Green Tomatoes, reflective chapters remember James and Estelle's youthful days of love in the 1950s, when it was frowned upon for whites and blacks to socialize, much less date. James and Estelle show their perseverance, humor, integrity, and imagination as they fight against a close-minded town and the football coach who has a personal vendetta against them.Other unique characters at Fireside include Mr. Epstein, a nosey Auschwitz survivor; Rob, a gay marketing director; Diane, a perky physical therapist; Mrs. Klinger, a delightful retired schoolteacher; and Erma, a money-hungry administrator. All these characters bring drama and laughter to everyday happenings at Fireside.Welcome to Fireside. I hope you enjoy your stay.

219 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 24, 2021

Reviews

[Keith Madsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I have ever read a novel about people in a nursing care facility before, but Dee Britt has written one, and she has written it rather well. Too many people go into such a facility and all they see is the pain and discomfort of aging. Britt helps us see what we should see -- people! Principally, she helps us see the story of James Johnson, a black man who had lost his wife and was struggling to progress enough physically to get back into the home where his memories were with that wife. We are allowed to see the beginning years of their life together, a black young man and his white girl friend. We share in the tension of interracial love in the rural South, and we rejoice with them as they are able to win over the forces of hate and prejudice. But there are other stories that are told inside the nursing care facility: a young woman considering abortion serendipitously encountering an old resident who braves telling her own abortion story, a survivor of the Holocaust who now seeks to have some measure of control over his scarred life, gay men who find each other, and others who simply find that when you treat people as people, wonderful surprises can come about. The author is not a really polished writer, and the novel could use some editing. But that does not change the fact that this is a very nice story, and well worth the reading.

[Susan Kite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Assisted living

While this was mainly about a black resident of a fictional center in Atlanta, this became as much about the dynamics of the various people working there. By extension that also included their outside friends as well. James and Ginger were wonderful characters, touching other lives and letting others touch them. There were so many codependencies (as there are in life) that at times you had to think of the relationship, but the author smoothly transitioned from one to the other. James’s decision at the end was very poignant and satisfying. Well done! Looking forward to the next one!

[Staci · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Fireside: The James Johnson Story, author Dee Britt brings us into the lives of those at an assisted living center--not just the residents, but the employees, too. I enjoyed the way the author took us to the past so that we could get to know James, a black sharecropper's son, and Estelle, a poor white girl, and allowed us to watch their relationship grow during the Civil Rights Era. Then, we were brought back to the present to find James in the assisted living facility, observing his fellow residents and helping others like Ginger, a compassionate but fiery nurse. The characters are well rounded and engaging, and I'm glad I spent time with the residents of Fireside!

[Amy M. Le · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four dimensional book

This book proves that you can’t judge a book by its cover and you can’t judge people by their looks or station in life.
Life is fluidic. People are ever-changing. Nothing is static. Britt has a wonderful knack for letting us see that there’s more to us than meets the eye.
I giggled and she’d a couple of tears reading this debut novel. I love the residents and characters of Fireside… all of them… even Erma. Lol. Well done!

[Mark Edward Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opening

A great look into the personalities of the men and women in an assisted little center. The characters were all very interesting and helps us to remember these centers are not just housing old people waiting to die. Interesting book and good job by the author.