Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

This is the first book I've read by Gloria Goldreich, and I have to say I love her writing style.  The story deals with the aftermath of their daughter's death. There are no histrionics, it's all very calm and collected as both parents - David and Judith - absorb their grief, unable to share their feelings with the one person who is going through the same thing.

Their unfinished sentences, ending with since ... or before ..., tug at the heartstrings as they struggle to vocalise Melanie's death, unable to even say her name out loud.

"They fell silent because silence was less dangerous than the intrusive words they might speak. By tacit consent, they retained the privacy of separate and secret sorrow. They did not want to break each other's hearts."

That says it all, and it is that very silence that leads them on their different paths. Both befriend another who understands their grief: Nancy lost her husband suddenly while pregnant (albeit many years ago), and her mother has just died, while Jeffrey's wife passed away leaving him alone in a grand house with his two daughters living across the country.

From the sidelines, their son, Brian, and his fiancée, Denise, watch in despair, not knowing how to help them.

Will Judith and David survive the grieving process without ruining their marriage? For a long time, it seems unlikely, despite their very obvious love for each other. When communication dies, can it be reclaimed?

It's a compelling yet slow-paced read, emotional and thoughtful, gentle and insightful. I will definitely read more from this author, and wouldn't hesitate in recommending this book to readers of contemporary women's fiction.

Thank you to Net Galley and Severn House for an ARC of this novel, in exchange for my honest review.

Your thirteen-year-old daughter rushes out the door to go to school, waving goodbye, with a half-eaten Pop Tart in one hand. A few hours later, the school calls: your daughter is dead.

In that moment, Judith and David go from being the parents of two children to being the parents of one, older son Brian. That sort of loss devastates with its grief. Months later, Judith and David essentially are ghosts, both to themselves and to each other. Brian is engaged to a woman Judith grudgingly accepts, and he is becoming fearful for his parents’ marriage.

Gloria Goldreich takes a deep dive into a marriage struggling to survive after the sudden, unexpected death of a child. Judith, embarking on a sabbatical she planned before Melanie’s death, finds herself with too much time, a stark irony given the brevity of her daughter’s time. She wants David to talk to her, to open up to her, to share his grief with her, but David doesn’t think he can do that. He worries that she is too self-sufficient and if he shows her his heartbreak, she will think him weak.

Into this void come two people, a man Judith reconnects with while volunteering at her synagogue’s thrift store (he and his wife once socialized with David and Judith many years ago, and he has been widowed for two months), and a woman with whom David works. They seek different things from these people. Judith helps prepare a woman’s belongings for donation to the thrift store, working her way through her pain and trying to find life in parts of her she believes are dead. David gives himself permission to weep, to grieve, to connect with someone who has suffered a loss of her own.

You will worry over David and Judith. Are they better together, or would their strength come from separating? Maybe these two really would be happier going their separate ways.

I felt all of their grief. The scenes in which Judith and David try to face their new normal are gut-wrenching. David’s moments of letting himself feel everything will tear your heart out. Gloria Goldreich lost me a little in some of the thrift store scenes, though. Judith forms a friendship with a woman who suffered her own losses, and while I can see the connection thematically, I felt like some of those scenes threw off Goldreich’s pacing.

As far as addressing grief, this book is solid. You will find yourself wanting David and Judith to reunite and wanting them to separate, and I appreciated Gloria Goldreich’s ability to make both seem plausible.

"After Melanie" was a heartbreaking and touching read about loss. Beautifully written, it made me think about what my own feelings might be in a similar situation. The writing style of the author, Gloria Goldreich, was very pleasant to read and overall, I loved this novel. It didn't blow me away but it was an extremely worthwhile read. Rating: 4 stars.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Severn House via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

No one knows how they will react when they lose a child except that they will be overcome with grief. How a couple works through that- well that's really really hard. Here, David and Judith find themselves turning to others, rather than to each other. Nancy and Jeffrey, their respective friends (for want of a better word) deserve better. Some of this might be familiar territory but Goldreich writes well. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

After Melanie is a book I wanted to love, but it us sadly not. The book is predictable and a tad boring. Its like watching a soap opera and knowing whats going to happen tomorrow without watching. I was hoping for more.

While the subject matter is a tear jerker it did not keep me interested in this book. It was predictable at best. The loss of a child would send anyone reeling, but this telling of one bored me.

Thank you to Net Galley and Severn House for an ARC of this novel, in exchange for my honest review. The loss of a child is arguably the worst loss anyone can experience. Most marriages do not survive. This is the story of one family and how each member handles their grief. Melanie's parents start finding themselves turning to others rather than each other to try to get through their days. I felt the emotion of this book. The only things I didn't love was that I didn't really "feel" I knew Melanie, their daughter that passed, and some of the reactions seemed unrealistic to me. I recommend this book.

Honestly, having read so many wonderful books by Goldreich, I was very disappointed in this book. The novel deals with a couple dealing with grief after the death of their young daughter.

The loss causes them to rethink their own relationship and look outside for comfort.

This was a soap opera and a tear jerker, trite and predictable. I could have written the ending after reading the first few chapters...I was right.

So, not a book I loved.