Disclosure: I received a copy of this book to review; this post contains affiliate links. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

As I read Prime of Life, the lyrics of this Matchbox Twenty song kept rolling through my mind.   How often do you see someone who seems just a little unwell?  Do you take the time to find out what’s going on with that person, or do you go on about your day hoping that they won’t respond truthfully to the “How are you?” question?   I’m ashamed to admit that I’m guilty of that walking-on-by-don’t-mind-me business.   Prime of Life reminded me to pause for a moment and get to know the people who share my air for a few minutes.  You never know, you might see a different side of that person!

If we had to go by Mr. and Mrs. Seinfeld, Del Boca Vista’s retirement community would be the height of a social party.  There’s a hot tub to enjoy and the fold-out couches are top notch.  But what happens when the kids aren’t visiting?  That’s when the real fun begins, I think.  In Prime of Life, Ben gets a dose of the retirement home lifestyle before he even hits age 40. You see, he’s the janitor in the complex.  As you read, though, you’ll find out that he’s not your typical handyman.

This book completely caught me off guard.   I didn’t have a lot of buildup from the summary on the back of the book and to be honest, the book went on the back burner for a few days.  What a shame!  I didn’t know what I was missing. This book ended up being completely delightful and truly fascinating.  You see, Ben has a few characteristics that made him an especially interesting person.  His mannerisms and nervous habits made me want to pull out the old DSM-IV and figure him out.  His geriatric sidekicks don’t let him get by with anything, which I loved.  The crochety old men at the retirement home become Ben’s buddies and the women cluck around him like mother hens.  I absolutely adored the characters in this book because I could totally and completely imagine them as real people.  Ben’s struggles with his agnostic tendencies are not foreign to me, as I’ve heard many science-y people voice similar opinions in the past.  I loved how he worked through his questions about God in a respectful and thoughtful way.

My only complaint about Prime of Life is the cover.  I’ve often admitted here that book covers draw me in.  This cover, however, does nothing for me.  Prime of Life is so full of love, sunshine, and the contrasting dark clouds that I really want to see something more creative on the front cover. It deserves something more, to be honest.  There were many laugh out loud moments in this book as well as heartwarming revelations about “the human condition.” What really hit home was the way that Ben embraced his issues as part of his psyche, not as mental challenges that had to be eliminated.  He understood his quirks and used them as self-soothing behaviors.  That was a graceful part of the story and it made me love Ben even more.  If someone you care about lives with OCD, Asperger’s, or a mental illness, consider reading Prime of Life as this novel offers insight into a beautiful mind in a way that is uncommonly realistic.