The One Hundred Yeas of Lenni and Margot

‘Between us,’ I said quietly, ‘we're a hundred years old.’

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is a debut story that affected my heart and soul. Is this a story that had me shedding tears?…Of course! Did I laugh and celebrate the joyful moments?…Of course, and even more so! This was a story that truly focuses on LIFE - the joyful, the heartbreaking, and the serious moments. I can already tell you that this will be one of my top reads from 2021, so go get a copy NOW! Then get one for a friend, because you’ll want to read it with some and gossip as you go!

Life is short. No-one knows that better than seventeen-year-old Lenni living on the terminal ward. But as she is about to learn, it's not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with.

Dodging doctor's orders, she joins an art class where she bumps into fellow patient Margot, a rebel-hearted eight-three-year-old from the next ward. Their bond is instant as they realize that together they have lived an astonishing one hundred years.

To celebrate their shared century, they decide to paint their life stories: of growing old and staying young, of giving joy, of receiving kindness, of losing love, of finding the person who is everything.

As their extraordinary friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet.

Marianne Cronin has written a magnificent and utterly beautiful and inspiring story of hope, destiny, wisdom and spiritual awareness. This is not a story about death and dying. Rather it is a story about living life to the fullest, no matter how much time one has left. It was about making peace with your own mortality, finding a place where you belong, and that family is not always blood-related.

I love the way Lenni approached her life rather than death. She had every right to be angry and bitter, yet she approached every situation with optimism, a sense of humor (oh the laugh out loud moments!), curiosity, and most importantly, an openness to love. Margot was a true free spirit, and a feisty old lady who had faced her fair share of grief and loss with strength and grace. Both were there for one another at a time when they needed someone the most. As the two shared and documented their best and worst memories I discovered how truly invested in their lives I had become. I felt their pain and cherished their beautiful and heartbreaking moments in life.

The hospital contained its fair share of quirky, memorable characters, and it wasn't just the bond between the two main protagonists that stood out for me. There were other relationships that were just as warm, and genuine. One of my favorite relationships was between Lenni and the hospital Chaplain, Arthur. Their relationship brought so much fun curiosity and levity to the story.

In the Author’s Notes, Cronin noted that she spent six years writing this story. After feeling all the love coming through the pages, I truly believe that part of her own heart and soul has to have been absorbed into this uplifting story.

Overall, I was deeply affected by this captivating and poignant debut book, and you will be too.