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Mrs. Rafton, Sowing and Reaping
Lola C. Hardaway
By Andrea Palos
Mrs. Rafton, Sowing and Reaping by Lola C. Hardaway gives a
disheartening glimpse into the business of alternative elderly care
and how it can go very wrong. Clouded by greed, scheming Sara Rafton
acquires a dilapidated property in Chicago and transforms it into Mainstream,
a home for 300 elderly, disabled and mentally ill patients. Among the
residents is Mona, a highly spiritual woman relegated to a wheelchair.
Forgotten and disparaged, a niece discovers her while fleeing from an
abusive husband, and decides she must go undercover in order to save
her aunt and the other neglected residents of the home.
Melody successfully relocates Mona and proceeds to take a job with
Sara Rafton in an effort to flush out the corruption. Gaining trust
with staff and patients, Melody unravels a chain of neglect hidden only
by a slew of administrative cover-ups and favors. After a tragic yet
ironic twist, Sara finds herself in the shoes of those she once neglected;
public health slams the doors on Mainstream, and we are given a fairytale
ending, complete with 90th-birthday festivities, gospel singers and
old, old friends.
The characters in Hardaway's story are numerous and easily intermingled,
moving in and out of the story with little development. Though it is
usually clear who is good and who is bad, it is not always so easy to
remember or recognize their importance. Characters are introduced with
generous description but go flat as you progress through scenes of feces-coated
patients, cockroaches and gory elevator accidents.
It's clear Hardaway wants you to connect with her characters, but most
are hollow puppets facilitating the plot, and offering nothing to hold
on to. Dialogue is blocky and stiff at times, rich in storyline details
but deficient in real emotion. However, the tale is crafted with obvious
insight and experience, which shines in the final chapters delving into
public health inspections, medical charts and missing narcotics. Hardaway
earns your faith, if not through her frequent quotes of scripture, at
least through her general expertise of the nursing realm.
This is an eye-opener, which just may persuade you to build an extra
room in your house and bring Grandma home to live with you.
Rating: *** (Good)
AuthorHouse, 2005 (ISBN: 1420809024)
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