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The new life-affirming, hilarious and heart-warming fictional diary from the beloved octogenarian and internationally bestselling author.

Eighty-five-year-old Hendrik Groen is fed up to his false teeth with coffee mornings and bingo.

He dreams of escaping the confines of his care home and practising hairpin turns on his mobility scooter. Inspired by his fellow members of the recently formed Old-But-Not-Dead Club, he vows to put down his custard cream and commit to a spot of octogenarian anarchy.

But the care home's director will not stand for drunken bar crawls, illicit fireworks and geriatric romance on her watch. The Old-But-Not-Dead Club must stick together if they're not to go gently into that good night. Things turn more serious, however, when rumours surface that the home is set for demolition. It's up to Hendrik and the gang to stop it - or drop dead trying . . .

He may be the wrong side of eighty-five, but Hendrik Groen has no intention of slowing up - or going down without a fight.

Formats & editions

  • Paperback

    9781405930307

    July 30, 2018

    Michael Joseph

    400 pages

    RRP $26.00

    Online retailers

    • Fishpond
    • Mighty Ape
    • Paper Plus
    • The Warehouse
    • Whitcoulls
    • The Nile
    Or

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  • Trade Paperback

    9780718186647

    January 29, 2018

    Michael Joseph

    416 pages

    RRP $37.00

    Online retailers

    • Fishpond
    • Mighty Ape
    • Paper Plus
    • The Warehouse
    • Whitcoulls
    • The Nile
    Or

    Find your local bookstore at www.booksellers.co.nz/directory

  • Hardback

    9780718186630

    January 15, 2018

    Michael Joseph

    432 pages

    RRP $48.00

    Online retailers

    • Fishpond
    • Mighty Ape
    • Paper Plus
    • The Warehouse
    • Whitcoulls
    • The Nile
    Or

    Find your local bookstore at www.booksellers.co.nz/directory

  • On the Bright Side
    Hendrik Groen

    EBook

    9781405930314

    January 11, 2018

    Penguin eBooks

    Online retailers

    • iBooks NZ
    • Amazon Kindle
    • Google Play
    • Kobo
    • Booktopia NZ

Extract

Wednesday, 31 December 2014

According to the statistics, on this last day of the year a man of eighty-five has approximately an 80 per cent chance of reaching 31 December 2015. I am going by numbers from the National Public Health Compass.

I shall do my best, but there’s to be no whining if the diary I’m starting tomorrow does not make it all the way through to the end of the year. A one‑​in‑​five chance.

Continue Reading
Q&A
How to achieve a bright 2018

Anonymous author Hendrik Groen talks about the importance of bringing old age to people's attention, and how to achieve a bright 2018.
 

Also by Hendrik Groen

The Secret Diary Of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old

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