I may have to stew on this but I will try to review it now. This is not a book that I would normally read so I'm not totally sure what to make of it yet. I was offered it from the publisher and sometimes reading something different can be a good thing. This book is about Annie dying and her family and best friend surviving her death. So the book goes through a year. We read the book through her husband Bill, her daughter Ali, and her best friend Annemarie. I enjoyed Ali's POV the best. I feel like the author did a good job with how everyone was coping with losing their wife, mother, and best friend. We see them all struggle and how will they move on? Life goes on even when someone dies. There are many flashbacks with Annie which was sometimes a little confusing reading. A flashback and then all of a sudden you are back in the present. I think this might be a good book for someone going through loss. I will definitely be thinking about these characters for a while and wondering how they are doing now.

-Ali wonders whether anyone ever said true things about people after they were dead, or whether dead people were always perfect, or at least very, very good.

-Everybody wanted you to move on, but moving on felt like just another way of saying "turn your back."

-Oh for pity's sake she doesn't need a counselor, this happens to people every day.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't make it easier.

-"Having someone die makes people mad."
"Yes it does. But maybe mad is just to cover up the other feelings. Maybe mad is just sad in disguise."

-"It actually makes it worse, not talking about it. Like they're all pretending nothing happened."

-"What's the point of grown-ups if they can't fix things?"

After Annie is a story that will stay with me for some time. The Brown family experiences a trauma that rocks their atmosphere and anyone that lives close. The ripple effects of loss an be profound and lasting.

WOW. Does Anna Quindlen knows how to write about grief and loss. This book, yet very hard to read, was powerful and moving. As someone who has experienced a sudden parental loss, Quindlen did a good job describing at least what I experienced even though I was about a decade older than Ali at the time.

Quindlen throws a lot of heavy topics in this book. It isn't just about parental loss but also, miscarriage, child abuse, sexual abuse, drug abuse and spousal loss.

Readers needs to be aware that Quindlen does such a good job about her descriptions that it could be triggering for some.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was both heartbreaking and beautiful. I read it in a few sittings and kept thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it. It was a tough read as the youngest of four, and a mother myself, close to the age of Annie. It was so well done and their grief felt so real. Thank you for the advance reader copy.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC: 4.5 rounded up--I haven't read any Anna Quindlen in a while and I'd forgotten her skill. After Annie is an exploration of how a family copes with the sudden death of their young mother/wife/glue of the family. It's primarily told from the point of view of the oldest daughter, Ali, but the father and Annie's best friend feature as well. The book is written in the seasons that occur after her death. Quindlen deftly moves the story from their disorienting grief to their attempts at coping. Much of the burden falls on Ali, who struggles to understand her father, a troubled friend, her younger brothers and her mother's dearest friend who is struggling with sobriety. The grandmother's are each problematic and don't support the family. It's an ultimately hopeful book. The season's of grief are thoroughly explored in a compelling story.

This book was a slow read. It definitely shed some light on lose and coping, but it was hard to stay engaged. If you like a slower pace book, this would be a good read.

I was invited to read this by the publisher as I had read/reviewed one of this author's previous works, "Alternate Side" years ago. This offering tackles the tender subject of a youngish mother of four suddenly dying, and the aftermath experienced by her grieving family. I do enjoy reading human interest stories about everyday people doing normal things. This story takes off immediately with the mom Annie dying from a brain aneurysm right in the middle of the kitchen floor while making dinner for her family. The reader is taken through the ambulance arriving, the funeral experience, and the burdens taken up by the oldest child, Alexandra (Ali). As a sidebar story, Annie's very best friend Annemarie is also struggling with this loss. Annie helped Annemarie get clean when she was addicted to painkillers. Annie's husband Bill deals with a multitude of issues like maintaining the house, dating, and helping his kids navigate life without their mom.

There was a lot of emotional fodder to bulk out this book, and the author handled it well. I admired the character of the deceased Annie, a woman who appreciated the small and simple pleasures of life like having babies and lovingly caring for the residents of the nursing home she worked at. I also liked the character of Ms. Cruz, the therapist at school who gently and compassionately listened and nurtured healing. I was drawn to the character of Ali, who as the eldest (and the only daughter) was forced to grow up in a hurry, helping her younger siblings get to school, learning to do laundry, and making meals. This was a good "quiet read" with some important life lessons.

Thank you to the publisher Random House for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

I’ve read and enjoyed all of Anna Quindlin’s novels. This one is right up there with her others. Annie isn’t even forty when she dies suddenly of a brain aneurysm. She leaves behind her husband, best friend, and four children. This character driven book is told from the point of view of the husband, best friend, and daughter. We see them through the first year after the death. We quietly learn what it’s like for the three of them to go through the grieving process as the seasons change from winter back to winter at the end of the book. I found this book quietly powerful. Highly recommend.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story of loss and grief.

After Annie dies unexpectedly it is up to her husband and best friend to take care of the four children that Annie has left behind. But how do they take care of the children when they are dealing with their unbearable grief also.

This is a beautiful story told from the perspective of the husband, the friend and the couple’s oldest child.

Highly recommend this book!!! Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the chance to read and review this book.

Anna Quindlen has been one of my favorite authors and I've read all of her books. Her new book is one of her best. She writes about family and secrets within a family that can negatively affect the entire family.

Annie Brown dies suddenly of a brain aneurism. She's young and leaves behind a loving husband, four children and a best friend who relied on her to keep her away from her addictions. This book looks at the first year after her death and how it affects her family and friends. Ali is 13 and she has three younger brothers. Her father can't cope with day to day life and Ali steps up and starts taking care of her brothers and even taking care of her father who is not handling life well. Annie's best friend, Annemarie, had changed her life thanks to Annie's help but now she is heading back into her old addiction. Everyone who knew and loved Annie is consumed with grief and her passing.

Annie died in Winter. By spring, things haven't changed much. Bill sill depends on Ali to take care of the younger kids and keep the house running. Bill is starting to get phone calls and cupcakes from single women in town but he still feels that he's married to Annie and not interested in other women. "Grief was like spring, maybe. You thought that you were getting out from under it and then it came roaring back. And getting out from under it felt like forgetting and forgetting felt like treason." (loc 941) By Autumn, life is still a mess. Annemarie is back to living her life on pills and lying to doctors to get more pills. She feels that without Annie, there is no way she can kick her addiction so why even try. Bill is starting to get his life back together but still relies on Ali too much. The boy closest in age to Ali is acting out and getting in trouble at school. By winter, one year after Annie's death, Bill has started taking over the home and the kids and tells Ali that she no longer has to be the grown up because he can handle things. Life has changed considerably for the family over the year since Annie died. There is a big hole in the family that Annie used to occupy but everyone has changed and they now feel that they can face the future together as a family.

Every one handles grief differently but the grief felt by Annie's husband and children is perfectly written. One minute you are hopeful for the future and then a wave a grief hits you and you lose all of the ground that you've gained. So yes, this is a sad story but more importantly it's about realizing that life will go on after a death and you need to work to make it your best life. This is a story about how love and loss can splinter a family and that they have to work very hard to become a different family than what they were before the death.

This was a slow-moving, character-driven novel, and for more than half the book I found myself reading a little then putting it aside, and feeling little pull to return to it. It did not measure up to previous books I've read by this author. Characters seemed under-developed, and there were frequent puzzling transitions from a scene in the present to a memory from someone's past that caused me to pause and reread to figure out just who was recalling and what was the connection to the present.

The novel opens with Annie's death, so that statement is not a spoiler, and follows her family and her best friend through the year or so that follows, as each of them reacts and adjusts in his or her own way to this devastating loss. Ali, her teenaged daughter, was for me the most likeable character, and the one I found easiest to relate to. The three younger boys were barely present in much of the story. Annie's husband Bill made me angry with his failure to step up and be the father his children needed, and his mother, in whose house the family lived, was simply hateful. Annemarie is the last major character, and her backstory was revealed only slowly, but did add to the story and make her more sympathetic.

The last third of the book made me feel it was worthwhile sticking with it, and I liked the way everything came together in the end.

The book deals with a families grief over a period of one year following the unexpected death of Annie, the wife, mother and friend. As a whole, I liked the book but found the middle section to be bit of a chore to get through. I liked following the story line of Ali, the daughter and Bill the husband. Annemarie's story line, the drug addicted best friend, made the plot of the book drag.

I was hoping to enjoy this book more than I did. 37 year old Annie unexpectedly dies, leaving 4 young kids and her husband all in shock. It’s about the year after and how they all handled it. I just thought it was ok. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this widget. Looking forward to her next book.

After Annie, by Anna Quindlen

This is a sad story, and I felt a disappointing one. We learn in the first three words that Annie dies suddenly, from a cerebral aneurism, while serving dinner to her husband and four children. This begins a year of grieving and coming to terms with the loss of this almost-saint-like woman.

Unfortunately, the adults closest to her, her husband and long-time best friend, are very involved in their own grief, and cannot seem to get beyond it to help Ali, the 13 year-old and only girl in the family, who must take on an adult role with her three younger brothers.

Bill, the grief-stricken husband, is a clueless father. Annemarie, the best friend, is a recovering addict who depended on Annie to keep her from returning to drugs. Bill is trying “to pull himself together;” Annemarie is trying “to keep it together.” Annie’s sister and mother are live far away, and her mother-in-law is mean and callous. And Ali’s best friend is secretive and kept close to home by her own parents, and so cannot be a source of comfort or strength for Ali.

The most understanding seems to come from the residents of the nursing home where Annie worked. They share with the family moving thoughts of her, her death, and grieving as a process. A sensitive school counselor also helps Ali and her father and brother explore and understand their feelings.

Ultimately, all the characters move on, trying to keep Annie’s voice and wisdom with them. But the process seemed predictable, and unsatisfying to this reader.

Annie’s four children, her husband, and her best friend must find a path forward after Annie suffers a fatal aneurysm in After Annie by Anna Quindlen coming out February 27. The novel covers five seasons as those left behind deal with struggle after struggle as they find their way without the woman they so dearly love.
While the community of Greengrass embraces the Browns, husband Bill finds life overwhelming as he is the sole keeper of the family now. He realizes more than ever before just how much Annie steered them all in their day-to-day life.

As the eldest at 13, daughter Ali assumes many of the daily responsibilities with the younger three children: Ant, Benjy, and Jamie. Annemarie, Annie’s lifelong pal and Ali’s godmother, falters in her sobriety without Annie to pull her back from the edge.

Within a couple of months, Bill allows himself to be pursued by his high school girlfriend Liz who tries to worm herself into the lives of the children. Ali is furious to learn that while she had gone to a sleepover, her father had left the boys home alone to be with Liz. Ali’s fury is unleashed as she watches her father kiss Liz in their driveway. Ant is terribly upset thinking that his father is going to marry Liz.

Ali continues to hold her own in her studies but is mandated by the school system to see the counselor because of her mother’s death. At first Ali tries to reveal nothing in these sessions because her best friend warned her that she doesn’t have to tell a counselor anything. Instead, Ali finds Philomena Cruz to be a guiding light as she steers Ali to talk about her mother when no one else can seem to. Eventually her brother Ant and her father will get guidance from Miss Cruz as well. A life-changing surprise steers Annemarie back on course.

Time does not heal all the Browns and Annamarie soon learn, but Annie’s love transcends death as her family and Annamarie move forward step by step to find their way once again. Quindlen’s deft hand is what makes this story work so that it is redeeming and hopeful rather than a downer.

Anna Quindlen, a novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists, won the Pulitzer Prize as a columnist at The New York Times. Her semi-autobiographical novel One True Thing (1994) served as the basis for the 1998 film starring Meryl Streep and Renée Zellweger. She lives in Manhattan.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting January 11, 2024.

I would like to thank Random House and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

After Annie is a very insightful book about death and family and the friends around them. I didn’t manage to read it all as I was still waiting for something to happen almost half way through.
We will buy it for the library and I am sure many patrons will enjoy it.

"After Annie" is a poignant and emotionally charged novel that delves into the complexities of grief, love, and resilience. Following the sudden death of Annie Brown, the narrative skillfully navigates the challenges faced by her husband, four young children, and closest friend as they grapple with the void left by the woman who was the anchor of their lives. The protagonist, Annie's daughter Ali, emerges as a compelling character who shoulders the responsibility of caring for her family, showcasing the profound impact of loss on the dynamics of a household.

Anna Quindlen's writing shines with emotional resonance, offering a deep and generous understanding of the human experience. Throughout the year that unfolds after Annie's passing, the characters undergo transformative journeys, illustrating the novel's central theme of triumph over adversity and the enduring power of love. Quindlen's trademark wisdom on family, emotions, and the intricacies of small-town life adds a layer of authenticity to the narrative, creating a story that resonates with readers on a profound level. "After Annie" is a beautiful exploration of how adversity can catalyze personal growth, and it concludes with a message of hope that lingers in the hearts of its readers long after the final page. Amy Bloom and J Courtney Sullivan's endorsements only reinforce the novel's impact, praising it as a wise and heartfelt portrayal of the connections that bind us and the transformative nature of love.

This book is incredibly sad and uplifting at the same time. Annie’s unexpected and untimely death leaves her children, husband and best friend without the force that held them together. The brunt of it all falls on the teenage daughter, but In the course of a year the characters grow and there is hope. like all Anna Quindlen books it is well written and the characters are relatable.

A most enjoyable voyage through a heartbreaking time after the loss of a Mother, parent, coworker and friend. How each character deals with Annie’s death is quite realistic. I almost felt part of the family experiencing the loss.
And how spit on was the arrival of Ms Cruz who helped the children and ultimately the entire family.
I enjoyed this story

Quindlen's books always hold my interest, most often are subjects I learn from and find easy to follow, usually to the point where I hate when they end. After Annie is just such a book.

We know in the first few pages that Annie dies suddenly, with her children watching. How the husband and children cope is the rest of the book. Told in a way that is very believable and sad, but true, we follow along as they all deal with their grief in their own way.

Of course, as in reality, it does seem that the daughter(s) take on the most responsibility to keep the family going and that is true here. Making use of counseling comes across as a good solution to try to make sense of the loss and then to start to live this new version of life we are presented with.

Nicely done; I didn't want this to end. Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy. Honest opinions expressed here are my own and are freely given.

Annie who is mid-thirties with four kids dies on the first page of an aneurysm as she is putting dinner on the table. The rest of the book–divided by seasons–reveals how her husband Bill, kids, best friend Annemarie–a former drug addict, and the people from the nursing home where she worked deal with their grief and relationships. Ali, the oldest , has to take on the care of her brothers and dad. Bill married Annie when she got pregnant but their relationship is loving. Now that she is gone he tries the dating scene with a girl he knew in high school. . Annemarie has a relapse without Annie there to help, however all turns out ok for her as she has a baby named Hope at the end of the novel.. Quindlen is such a good writer that her characters are easy to identify withl. Most of them go to counseling which seems to help. She tells Bill his failure to talk about Annie is hurting the kids so he starts and it does help. He ends up dating her. The book was tough because their grief, pain and struggles are so real. I didn’t like the last section because it got too didactic. It almost seemed she didn't know how to end it. The side story of Jenny---Ali's friend--also seemed irrelevant.