From Publishers Weekly When she became a volunteer for Older Corps， an organization in Los Angeles that arranges visits for the elderly in nursing homes， Komaiko， a 44-year-old children's book author (Annie Bananie， etc.)， was motivated by a desire to overcome her pervasive fear of aging. She was assigned to visit Adele， a 93-year-old blind resident who was alert and in relatively good health， but who spent most of her days lonely and longing for conversation. Over the course of about a year， their visits increased from once to several times a week as the friendship between the two women deepened. Komaiko is best at bringing to life Adele's independent mind and her determination to wrest as much life as possible out of her remaining days， as well as at pinpointing the aspects of nursing home life that worked against Adele's fighting spirit. She recounts how Adele was confined to her room without company for weeks because she was diagnosed with scabies and the nursing home physician was on vacation in Palm Springs. Unfortunately， Komaiko devotes too much of this memoir to unconvincing ruminations on her own personal life and how contact with Adele changed her for the better. The saccharine final anecdote， in which Adele meets Komaiko's family and her new boyfriend at a party at her home， is perhaps more appropriate to children's literature. Though everyone， apparently， lives happily ever after， this is not often the case in nursing homes according to the author's own account. Agent， Patti Breitman. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information， Inc. From Library Journal Komaiko， a best-selling children's author， here jumps into the adult market. Feeling old and burned out in the fast-paced world of L.A.， she decided to volunteer for Elder Corps， an organization that matches companions with the elderly in nursing homes. Komaiko was matched with Adele， a 93-year-old blind woman. At the age of 90， Adele (with her children) had moved across country from New Jersey to Southern California to escape East Coast winters. One daughter died from the strain of the move， one daughter moved to Billings， MT， and her son moved to Reno. Adele was moved to the California Chateau nursing center. After much apprehension on Komaiko's part， their one-hour weekly visit turned into several visits per week， and Adele became an integral part of Komaiko's life， even with a 50-year age difference. A feel-good book for people who enjoyed Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie (Doubleday， 1997).ALisa S. Wise， Broome Cty. P.L.， Binghamton， NY Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information， Inc. See all Editorial Reviews