The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.

 Book 47 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from April 8 - 18

The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.

by Nichole Bernier

published 2012

2 stars

When visiting my elderly aunt in another state earlier this year, I came home with a trunk full of things from her home she wanted me to have.  I was especially excited about the boxes of photos; I've become the keeper of our family's history both by interest and by necessity.  There was no rhyme or reason to the photos so when I got home I was sorting everything and having lovely trips down Memory Lane when BAM...nude photos of my aunt and her partner from many years ago.  Ok, that was surprising but another day, another box and BAM..more nude photos of my aunt and a different partner just casually mixed in.  It was surprising to say the least.  Her memory isn't all there so I didn't bother asking her about them but I did feel like if she remembered they were mixed in there, maybe she would've taken them out.  Or maybe they could've at least been in an envelope so there was notice and I wasn't just flipping through photos with my husband and kids.  Which made me think about the stuff we leave behind for others...maybe there should be a box that just says "discard without looking in this" where people can take their secrets with them.

What does that have to do with this book?  The premise of this book is Elizabeth dies unexpectedly and her neighbor/friend Kate discovers she has been left Elizabeth's trunk of journals.  Elizabeth's husband Dave and Kate's husband Chris are also main characters with their own conflicting feelings over Elizabeth's choice of skipping Dave and Kate's involvement (obsession?) in reading them.

Great premise, didn't love the actual execution.  A complete side plot of someone on the island selling their home/possibly losing their restaurant that was left unresolved.  Too many "coincidences" leading to information being discovered.  I was invested in her younger self but it felt unrealistic about what Elizabeth chose to write about once the journals reached the point where the other main characters were in her life.  

So it prompted thoughts about my real life and what I would do (I'm not a journal writer) but the book itself was meh.

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 47th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)

- Title starting with 'U' (I'm doing an A-Z title challenge)