After Annie

Love, loss, grief, and living are some of the themes of this gripping, beautiful, moving, and heartfelt novel. Annie Brown died suddenly leaving behind her husband and four young children. After Annie shows how Annie’s family and friends are left to struggle while coping with her loss. Bill, Annie’s husband, is overwhelmed trying to care for his children and run his business after losing his wife. Annemarie, Annie’s best friend has always had Annie to call on for support and guidance and finds herself falling back to old habits, while Ali, Annie’s daughter becomes a parentified child who is left to care for her younger siblings and her father in the absence of her mother.

This book shows the family dynamics, struggles, sense of loss and grief the characters experience after losing their wife, mother, and friend. During that year, Bill, Annemarie, and Ali will go through a lot of emotions, they will struggle, and each will grow.

This was a moving exploration of grief and love. The writing was beautiful and the passages heartfelt. I loved the message that moving on does not mean forgetting and that it doesn’t lessen your relationship with the deceased.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group – Random House, Random House and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.