Beautiful and heartbreaking book. An honest look at grief and how those who have lost someone adapt and grow in the aftermath. Not a lighthearted book - but an important one.

How do you go on after your Mom, wife and very best friend suddenly departs at such a young age without any warning?
This is the story of survival, grief, heartbreak and love over a year following Annie's death.
Her family is devastated, and yet through this entire journey we see that "Life can and will go on".
Each character in this novel is so well developed that I felt as if I knew them and truly was sad at times for them.
I could envision them as they "remembered" Annie and all she gave and loved to her tribe.

Thank you to @Netgalley and to @Random House Publishing Group for this touching ARC and allowing me to read it and provide my own review.

This family drama by Anna Quindlen may be tough to read for those whose grief is fresh. My father passed away in March this year, but—maybe because his story was nothing like this one—I didn’t find myself bawling through it. After Annie is a thoughtful, tender story, rich with insight.

It’s not spoiling anything to tell you that Annie Brown, a wife, mother, friend, daughter, and sister, dies unexpectedly and leaves a giant hole in the lives of those who loved her. This book unfolds what happens over the course of the next year. With views from Annie’s husband, her oldest daughter, and her best friend. I especially felt for the daughter, who had to grow up overnight and who managed to find a healthy way to handle her emotions.

Nobody writes about emotions better than Quindlen. I’ve been a fan of hers since she was writing columns for the New York Times. She handles a universally tough topic without being maudlin or resorting to syrupy sentimentalism. Showing how one woman’s life profoundly affects so many other lives, the author manages to offer hope to all of us. And she does it with beautiful language and images that will linger in your thoughts and hearts.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advance reader’s copy.

This is a beautifully written, elegant novel on what grief can do to a family. Annie, a wife and mom of 4, dies on the first page of the book. What follows is the story of the year after her death, when her husband, children, and best friend each handle this overwhelming grief in different ways. We've all been there. The family is very realistic, could be your own or your neighbors. Some exhibit great strength, some struggle with weakness, but at then end the reader sees growth and hope. Anna Quindlen is a great writer.

Annie dies on the first page. This novel chronicles the year that follows, through the eyes of her loved ones. It's all too realistic, down to the small details of grief. The pace is kind of slow moving, as it's more character driven, and the tone is obviously melancholy. Maybe this was too close to home for me, having just finished treatment for breast cancer, but it's well done.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read After Annie by Anna Quindlen.

Another beautifully written book by Anna Quindlen. Her words are always welcomed. Her characters always relatable and realistic (even those you enjoy disliking). I was sad to finish and leave this family.

Slow-moving but thoughtful character study of love and loss. Not Quindlen's best but worth the read.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This book tells the story of a heartbroken family following the death of Annie Brown, wife of Bill, a plumber, and mother of four young children ranging in age from 6 to 13. It was a sudden passing, no time to prepare, so everyone around her is in a frantic tailspin. Bill shuts down, starts working very long hours, and can’t bear to talk about Annie to their children. Annie’s best friend Annmarie whom she rescued from the throes of addiction, is completely lost without her main supporter, and her nine years of sobriety is in jeopardy.

Bill’s caustic mother, Dora, finds no love lost with Annie’s passing, nor does she approve of Annemarie. The eldest daughter, Ali, 13, tries to confide in her best friend Jenny who hails from a seriously toxic family. The school counselor, Miss Cruz, gently guides Ali through her grief and over time, becomes a comforting resource for them all.

The family dynamic is tracked over the seasons with each main character coming to grips with their future without their wife, mother, and best friend. The sadness of the loss is tempered by a sense of optimism, that yes, they will somehow all get through this. Anna Quindlen’s wisdom shines through as she brings the characters through this trial, challenging each one to find a new path forward. It’s a journey of healing, with every emotion from denial and anger to resignation and acceptance. The book is beautifully written, insightful, and full of grace.

With thanks to NetGalley, I received an advance review e-copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. (Publication date: March 12, 2024)

I am late to the discovery of Anna Quindlen, but I am glad I found her. After Annie is well written and makes deep observations. As a child I too lost a parent. Maybe because of that I was drawn into the book and felt the sentiments were deeply authentic bringing the reader closer into the shared intimacy of the characters.

After Annie is about a family that must find its way after the mother unexpectedly dies. To say Annie was the glue is an understatement. She was the go-to person for the old people at the nursing home and for her friend Annmarie. Her husband Bill was usually out of the house early as a plumber. He loved his family and kids, but he certainly had never done the laundry or made a meal. His grief and lack of knowledge hampers the family. He is clearly overwhelmed and relies on his oldest daughter Ali to get the little ones up and to organize dinners. She too has lost her mother, but it naturally falls on her shoulders to take charge. All the kids suffer from the reality that Annie is not coming back. Anna really gives the reader insight into this deep loss as she navigates the nuances with ease.

Annie also had a best friend named AnnMarie, and she too is left reeling from the tragedy and is left to find ways to cope and move on with her life as Annie was her moral compass.

Annie, mother of four, dies unexpectedly on the kitchen floor. This book, After Annie, illuminates how Annie's husband, best friend, and daughter Ali, cope during the year following Annie's passing. Their lives are all intertwined as they grieve together, and we learn how Annie had touched each of them and transformed them into better people.

This book is not especially uplifting. It's sad. But it's typical of a circle of grieving people. I appreciate the creative format, as characters reminisce about Annie as they go about their daily lives. I would recommend this book to those readers who are OK with being quite melancholy.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review After Annie.

When Annie Brown sudden to dies, her husband, four children, and best friend are left to keep on going.

I definitely need to read this author’s backlist. This was my first of hers but I loved her emotional writing style. This was a very sad book but allowed for some deep diving into several of the characters. As a wife and mother I often wonder how my family would get along without me; with all the small tasks and organizations that I do. This story supported that and showed how the family got along over time.

“They we’re all floating in some in-between where nothing seemed real and nothing seemed right. Waiting for the rest of life, whatever that was, a future that felt like a betrayal.”

After Annie comes out 3/12.

I’ve read most of Anna Quindlen’s books so I was super excited to dig into this one.

After Anna is a brilliantly written book about a family who loses their mother and wife to a tragic, sudden death. Her children, her husband and lifelong best friend struggle immensely to deal with their grief and try to move on.

As I myself very recently had a death in the family, I found myself agreeing with and understanding every one of their emotions. This book is very realistic and takes a deep dive into the grieving process and how a young family traverses through their memories and wonder what their futures hold without their beloved Annie.

I highly recommend this 4-star read. It is due to be published on March 12, 2024. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Pub. Date: March 12, 2024

Mini-Review

“After Annie” is about a young mother of four who passes away very abruptly at home from an aneurysm after claiming to have a headache and asking her husband for an aspirin. Bill, her husband, and their four kids are in shock and unsure how to proceed without Annie. Bill jumps into a relationship too soon to fill his loneliness. Her kids are depressed, and one is acting out. Annie’s death affects more than just her family, such as her best friend Annemarie, who also has difficulty living without Annie. Without being unduly dramatic or dismal, “After Annie” is written with frank honesty and emotion. It offers a glimpse into a slice of life and the day-to-day struggles of a family still reeling following the death of the bonding member. Anna Quindlen created a moving tale about family, love, and dealing with loss and sadness through the four seasons after her death from the perspectives of her loved ones. The story can be slow-moving, but stick with it. The pace of the novel keeps the characters feeling real.

Another really thoughtful book by Anna Quindlen. This one explores a death in a family and the impacts of those who suffered because of it. The progression of grief and how everyone deals with it differently is the underlying theme here, but told in Quindlen’s thought provoking style. Another reason to read this is for the peripheral characters with lives of their own, which overlap in the main story. A book worth reading.
Thank you NetGalley for a ARC.

I’ve enjoyed all of Anna Quindlen’s books, After Annie is a story of how life plays out among family and friends after death.
Thank you Net Galley for the ARC

After Annie is a beautifully written book about grief, survival and picking up the pieces after a death. The author does a great job at making you feel all the emotions with her character development. Highly recommend!

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange of an honest review.

Anna Quindlen, Best Selling author, was born the same year as me (1952) …. I kinda love that…..
ha….
…..but I’m not nearly as accomplished as Anna in any shape or form……but someone once wrote “Anna Quindlen sounds like somebody who would be fun to have to dinner”.
I agree!!! I’d love to have Anna for dinner.

In all her novels Anna captures love, loss, grief, and the fragility of family life beautifully-graciously. (all topics I’m deeply interested in)
In Anna’s novels . . .
. . . sometimes things seem as ordinary as an normal uneventful day —
but then not ‘so’ ordinary……there are always unexpected daggers ….
Those ‘daggers’ are perfectly rendered in her novel “Every Last One”. It took me days ….weeks….to recover.

I don’t always agree with every choice Quindlen makes in her storytelling….but I am ‘always’ invested in reading everything she writes. (I share a love for Anna Quindlen along with many readers). She cares about home, family, children’s healthy development, love. She encourages us to do more for the homeless…..respect diversity…..and cares what others are feeling and thinking.
She has a ‘gift’….a magical way of pulling us into whatever she is writing whether we like it or not.
Her ‘heart’ is so damn real….and that is what ultimately stands out for me. Anna is real.

I’ve enjoyed many (all actually) novels by Anna Quindlen ….
The following are my favorites:
“One True Thing” (probably my ‘very’ favorite)….
“Black and Blue”
“Every Last One”
“Miller’s Valley”

I also enjoyed “After Annie”…..
I’ve been thinking about it for a ‘few’ weeks now. Like each of the above novels mentioned, “After Annie” would make a perfect book club choice. Her books create the opening for very engaging (affecting) contrasting and opposing life discussions.

I’ve debated on what to ‘rate’ “After Annie”…..(I’m not sure any of the ratings matter)….as it’s the content - feelings - thoughts - my personal introspective/reflective thoughts - triggers & opinions …. that matter to me.
So for me ….”After Annie” is a solid 4 stars. That said….I understand and respect all 5 and 3 star ratings as well. Any lower ….would just be ridiculous.

“After Annie”….
Life changed instantly for the Brown family.
Annie Fonzheimer Brown died suddenly (brain aneurysm) at the start of the story. SHE WAS SO LOVED!
Annie was survived by:
William J. Brown (Bill) ….Annie’s husband.
Alexandra (Ali) ….oldest thirteen year old daughter.
Anthony (Ant) …..eleven years old son
Benjamin (Benjy) eight year old son
and
James (Jamie) six year old son
and
another important figure left behind was Annie’s best friend, Annemarie, (who knew Annie before Bill and the kids).

Through love, grief, memories, confusion, fears, struggles, misunderstandings, and strength in finding one’s way……
……the story follows many characters over a one year period:
….The immediate Brown family, (Bill and the four children) —
….Annemarie (Annie’s best friend….with a history of drug addition) —
….Jenny, (Ali’s close school friend—an only child with an unsettling side story),
….Clients from the nursing home where Annie worked —
….Philomena (Mena) Cruz > Miss Cruz - a school counselor,
….Liz - Bill’s friend
….Maude and the Mennonites
and
….several other characters.

The two most dominant characters were thirteen year old Ali and best friend, Annemarie (their relationship together was engrossing), and their individual struggles were profoundly felt …
but . . .
I wondered why the two younger children (8 yr. old Benjy and 6 yr. old Jamie), even needed to be in this story.
Other than the fact that we learn little Benjy was afraid of bugs and birds, and that Jamie started sucking his thumb — the young boys are virtuously ’unseen-kids’.
NOTE….
I am sensitive to the younger children not having much of a voice (FOR PERSONAL REASONS) > ….so this minor quibble has more to do with me than Anne’s novel.,
When I was 4 yrs old, my 34 year old thin, healthy-looking - father, dropped dead of a heart attack in fifteen minutes at our house. The day of the funeral — (I remember the details like yesterday)…. our large extended Jewish family all there — people at our house for weeks — food - people - food - people….
My mom in bed most of the time.
Me (the youngest pipsqueak)….was suppose to “go sit on the toilet”….BE REMOVED from my cousins - grandparents- aunts and uncles “GO!” ….”sit on the toilet”.
My older sister found me an hour later (not having pooped as was the plan)….but fast asleep with my head on the sink counter.
So I grew up feeling as though I didn’t matter much. Thank God for my friends ….I wanted to play with anyone willing.
I once said to my mom that I was sad that I didn’t have a Daddy like all the other kids in my kindergarten class.
All my mom said was “It hurt me a lot more than you”.
Kinda sad, huh? Life changes dramatically for children after a parent dies - or when a divorce happens.
So…..at times when reading “After Annie”…..I thought about these things again in my own childhood….(loss, grief, and figuring things out and finding my way)….
I wondered why did the ‘adult’ best friend, Annemarie got a bigger voice in this story than the little children. (But like I said — I’m sensitive to the little of children left behind) ……yet….I loved Annemarie….as I did Ali, Ant, Benjy, Jamie, and Bill.

I’m sorry for this over-bloated long review …..(it took me a few weeks to feel ‘up’ to writing a review at all) — BECAUSE I CARED FOR THE CHARACTERS …..very personally. I’ve been thinking about this story a little each day for weeks.
I revisited some long ago painful memories—but in new poignant ways….Anna even provided new wisdom around family loss for me. This was the type of book that makes the losses of life bearable at all.

Truth is….Anne Quindlen cares about family, marriage, friendships, love, (children) acceptance, healing, forgiveness….ALL THE IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE.
I’m grateful that Anna Quindlen has written books that mean something to me…

Anne makes me think and feel…..
Did I think every choice was the perfect choice? No, not really ….but who cares….I will remember this novel (for all it is and all it isn’t) with a lot of heart.

Having Anne Quindlen in our lives is a gift.

A few quotes:

“He wanted the ordinariness of everyday. Before this happened, he would leave in the morning and there’d be a family- size package of chicken thighs, and a box of wild rice on the kitchen counter, and when he stopped for lunch at the diner, he would get a cheesesteak or a meatloaf special because he would know that for dinner he was having chicken and rice. That was how his life used to be, before”.

”To have your wife die suddenly before you are even forty years of age was going to carry the weight of sympathy forever, and yet still needed to move on”.

“Grief was like spring, maybe. You thought 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”.

”Sometimes when he reached in the closet for a shirt, a sleeve or two from her side, would touch his arm, like it was reaching for him, and there would be a faint smell, lemon and hand cream, and something else, maybe her shampoo”.

Bill, get me my Advil, I have a terrible headache…this book is the story of a family putting their lives back together after losing Annie. After Annie has wonderful character development, from the best friend, Annmarie to the eldest daughter, Ali, to everyone in between. Without adding any spoilers, there is a side story involving Ali’s best friend Jenny that doesn’t seem to directly relate to the main tale, but it provides an interesting twist. This is not a light read. Themes of grief and abuse are present throughout. It does a wonderful job marrying the plot lines together and in the end, there is hope.

I’ve enjoyed all of this author’s books, fiction and nonfiction. After Annie is an immersive saga of how life plays out among family and friends after the death of Annie. How each character handles their grief in their own way makes for a compelling read.

A beautifully written, heartbreaking book. Annie dies on the first page, yet never has there been a character so lovingly rendered and so utterly, achingly alive. Annie wasn't particularly special in any way on the surface, but as the impact of her death reverberates through the lives of her husband, her four kids, and her best friend Annemarie, the intense loss of this quiet good woman brought me to tears. Every person whose life she touched in the long-term care home where she worked, all the beneficiaries of her quiet generosity, the joy she found in just being -- the ripples were immense. One doesn't have to be famous or loud to make a massive impact. One need just be kind. Thank you, Anna Quindlen, for yet another masterpiece. #netgalley