Judith Freeman's Set For Life is a deeply spiritual novel. Phil Doucet, a retired Idaho carpenter and widower, receives a new heart when his grandson is declared brain dead after an automobile accident. Thanks to the transplant, he is set for life but his spirit is still weighed down by grief. Then Louise, a teenager who has fled the abuse and violence of her neo-Nazi stepfather, comes into Phil's life. These two are an odd couple — the recluse and the sullen teenager who has never known the bounties of a safe home and someone to watch over her with love.
Freeman beautifully conveys their uneasiness with each other and their tiny steps toward deepening trust. There is, the author seems to be saying, a form of grace operative in the universe that brings needy souls together so they can nourish and nurture each other. Set For Life is a rare and life-enhancing novel about the enchantments of a world where individuals can reach across the generations and restore each other to riches of feeling and the buoyancy of hope.