Genre: Contemporary Literary Fiction

Anna Quindlen’s After Annie is a beautiful look at the impact of grief in the year after a devastating death. Annie passes out in her kitchen and dies. Quindlen explores the impact of this loss on her children, particularly Ali; her husband Bill; her best friend Annemarie; and the elderly residents at home where she worked. This study of grief is beautifully rendered.

These characters are thoroughly developed. I love books with multiple perspectives and such is the case here. I resonated most with Ali.I have spent a fair amount of time in the last ten years trying to process the impact of grief on my family - on me through the loss of my 8 year old brother when I was 7. My heart was right with Ali. I can remember aging fairly quickly after that tragedy. I’ve often wondered who I’d be if we had grown up together. Like Ali, for a time, I lost my parents as well as my brother. Bill’s grief was poignant, and Anna captures his confusion and loss. Annemarie becomes lost to addiction for a brief time (again). I am grateful for the counseling that this family in the book received. We have come a long way from the early 70s to be sure. Quindlen’s gentle empathy toward all of these lost characters is lovely to read. I am grateful, too, that love wins, warts and all.

I can’t recommend After Annie highly enough. Quindlen’s gentle insight into this very realistic family situation worked for me very well. I think if you are early in the grieving a loss space, Quindlen offers hope. If you are a life timer like I am, you might find a kind of comfort in knowing that other families, other daughters have walked a similar journey. In many ways Anna Quindlen’s After Annie feels much like a good friend to me.