The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness and death.

The protagonist, Augusta Stern, has worked as a pharmacist at a hospital for the past 15 years. The hospital’s director summons her to ask if she is considering retirement since she is turning 70. Augusta realizes that the hospital’s move to keeping electronic records means that they will eventually discover that she has lied about her age: She is in good health, thanks to diet and exercise, and she takes care of her appearance, but she is actually about to turn 80. She announces that she will retire and move to a retirement community in Rallentando Springs, Florida.

During a restless night, Augusta reviews her father’s copy of the U.S. Pharmacopeia, the book she used in pharmacy college, and whispers the names of drugs “like the names of old friends” (4). On her first morning in her new community, she visits the swimming pool. Augusta swims regularly and enjoys the exercise. Someone calls out “Goldie,” a name that she hasn’t used for over 60 years. The person who called out to her is Irving Rivkin, a man Augusta knew when she was a teenager.