George Beasley's Better Angel

by Jean Davies Okimoto

George Beasley is widowed, his friend Eddie is divorced, and they're both pushing eighty. Together they attempt to pick up the pieces of their lives by trying to open an Airbnb in George's basement. In this story of aging, grief, and loss that's laced with laughter, George Beasley's Better Angel celebrates the help we can get from our friends, and the help that lies within, when we can listen for it.

296 pages, Paperback

Published March 3, 2022

About the author

“I’ve always had an appreciation for the constant balancing act between career and family and for women in the arts it can be a high wire act.”

Okimoto, who was born in 1942 in Cleveland, Ohio, knows of what she speaks. An acclaimed children’s author, playwright, retired psychotherapist, wife, mother, and grandmother, she has worn many hats since Putnam published her first book in 1978.

With The Love Ceiling, her eighteenth book and one she calls “my debut novel for my own age group,” Okimoto delivers a charming and poignant exploration of a long marriage and the conflicts that arise in both in retirement and in parenting adult children. The roles of a woman in her sixties: wife, mother, grandmother and artist are richly drawn with complexity and depth.

Many of the themes resonate for women across generations, but the author is especially passionate about reaching older women, a huge segment of the population which Okimoto feels has not been well served by large publishers. With rave reviews from early readers and endorsers such as Christiane Northrup, MD author and host of the PBS television special Mother-Daughter Wisdom, Okimoto’s debut adult novel is fast becoming a book club favorite.

The Love Ceiling won top honors in the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards adding to the author’s numerous awards which include Smithsonian Notable Book, the American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, the Washington Governor’s Award, the Green Earth Book Award, and the International Reading Association Readers Choice Award. Jean Davies Okimoto’s books and short stories have been translated into Japanese, Italian, Chinese, Turkish, German, and Hebrew. A resident of the Pacific Northwest since 1968, Jeanie Okimoto and her husband live on Vashon Island near Seattle.

Reviews

[Rrshively]

George Beasley is still mourning the loss of his wife from two years ago, and his friend Eddie has recently divorced, so he invites Eddie to stay with him. Eddie has the bright idea of starting a bed and breakfast in George's basement, as they live on scenic Vashon Island. George isn't so sure it's an undertaking for two men in their 70's. Will they succeed? Full of humor and the pathos of life, this book is about friendship and taking on life.

[Susan Oram]

A delightful book about a widower who lives on Vashon Island in Washington State. A friend talks George into offering a room in his basement on Airbnb. Through this ill-fated venture, George's world opens up, and he meets new friends. The book reminded me of A Man Called Ove.

[Lynn]

The author is well known, mainly for her children and young adult books. This book reads like one, but with themes that resonate with the Senior crowd. Sweet, but not stimulating.

[Alyssa Gire]

3.5 stars rounded up. a sweet book with sweet characters & good heart. I just wasn’t hooked on the writing style.

[Meg Roberts]

An okay story of two men trying to start an AirBnB. Not the variety of guests I was hoping for.

[Margaret Heldring]

Literature that shows as much sensitivity and insight about older people as Jean Okimoto's does is a treasure! People are still growing, dreaming, and seeking purpose and connection even as they approach 80. Jean Okimoto gets this and has created characters that make you smile and laugh as well as deepen your appreciation for the older years. She has such a tender touch with her imagination and her pen! I could not have enjoyed this more!