I Was Hoping to Age Like a Fine Wine But I’m Feeling More Like an Avocado is a compilation of true stories about getting older, parenting, grandparenting, moving, and trying to purge decades worth of stuff. In this, her third book, Marlene Kern Fischer writes about the annoying memory lapses that come with aging and how she and her husband frequently play tag-team-recall to piece together things they’ve forgotten.

She discusses how getting older requires grace, humor, and good friends who understand where you’re at because they’re there also. Citing her feisty mother-in-law as an example of thriving in old age, Marlene offers practical suggestions on how to keep going even when everything hurts.

Having made the decision to move from the house in which she raised her family, Marlene optimistically begins to whittle down her alarmingly abundant array of stuff, which include her kids’ artwork and items from her own childhood. With a dumpster to motivate her, she starts purging, only to find the process daunting and seemingly endless.

Simultaneously, the construction of their new home unfolds as a comedy of errors, plagued by unmet promises from the initial contractor and uninvited geese. Amidst the chaos reminiscent of a Money Pit scenario, Marlene endeavors to maintain her sanity with a newfound hobby in crocheting, albeit with less-than-stellar results, while her husband tries different approaches to get the geese to leave.

As a mother of three sons, Marlene is thrilled when she learns she is going to be a grandmother. Will it be a boy or a girl? What will the baby call her? These questions, along with how things have changed since she had her own kids, are explored in the chapter “Journey Towards Grandparenthood.

” With her trademark wit and relatable stories, many of which originally appeared on her Facebook blog Thoughts From Aisle 4, Marlene welcomes you into her world which might feel a lot like your own. I Was Hoping to Age Like a Fine Wine But Am Feeling More Like an Avocado is your ticket to laughs, tears, and everything in between – whether you're lounging on a beach or cozied up at home.

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