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Lynda Cohen Loigman's The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is a book that draws on many of the elements that make a great book: family, tradition, love, loss, joy and sorrow. The book approaches magical realism, but stops short, relying instead on chance, coincidence, happiness, and the power of love. The story alternates between the 1920s and 1987. Augusta Stern is about to celebrate her 80th birthday. She has been forced to retire from her career as a pharmacist because of her age. Her new home is Rallentando Springs, a retirement community in Florida. Solomon Stern, Augusta's father, tried to raise his daughters on his own after his wife died. When he realized he was too sad to do much more than run his drugstore, he invited his mother's sister to live with them and help raise the girls. Great aunt Esther considered herself a healer. Where she came from, some people considered her a witch. She believed in chicken soup with kreplach and a special blend of freshly ground herbs mixed with a mortar and pestle. She repeated a mysterious chant while preparing it. Augusta followed both of her role models. As a young woman, she was in love with Irving Rivkin, the drugstore delivery and odd job employee. Things kept interfering with his intended marriage proposals. Life also kept happening. Irving ended up moving to Chicago and marrying someone else. Now, Irving is a surprise neighbor. The book eventually fills in the gaps between the 1920s and 1987. What happened to derail the proposals? Is it too late for love in 1987? Will what great aunt Esther taught Augusta help?