Recessional (1994), the final novel by American author James A. Michener, centers on life in a fictional retirement home and hospice known as The Palms.

Disgraced obstetrician Andy Zorn's life changes when he is hired by John Taggart, the head of a retirement home chain, to run his financially unstable Florida operation called The Palms.

Andy must agree to sign on as a business manager only, and is in no way authorized to provide medical advice or treatment to the residents of the geriatric care facility.

As Andy struggles to keep The Palms, his reputation, and hope afloat, he faces politics and morality, romance and bitterness, and a litigious scandal from his own past that threatens to ignite controversy wherever he goes.

The novel educates as it tells a series of interconnected vignettes that collectively paint a larger picture of life in the retirement industry, both from a business point of view, and from that of the residents themselves as they seek meaning and companionship in the twilight of their lives.