Some books grab your heart and just never let go. I think After Annie might be one of those books for me. I finished it weeks ago and haven’t stopped thinking about it.

Anna Quindlen's latest is a devastating portrait of grief, addiction, family life, and the impossibility of being a teenager. The story begins with Annie's death (not a spoiler) and examines how each of her closest relationships cope with her loss. Annie was a mother of four, with Allie, her oldest daughter, entering her tumultuous teen years. She’s been unexpectedly thrown into the role of mother to her younger siblings, but she’s still a child herself. Her father, Bill, a mostly inept man who fumbles his way through his grief, is not much help. Meanwhile, her mother’s best friend, AnneMarie, threatens to fall back into a dark addiction, rendering her unable to help in any meaningful way. They are all so exquisitely ruined by the loss of this woman, and the resulting novel is spectacular, all the way down to the line level.

This book is filled with every trigger warning I can give you, so please proceed with caution if you are in a sensitive space right now. If you have serious oldest-daughter vibes like I do, I can’t recommend this highly enough. I hope you love it as much as I did.

After Annie is a powerful read about the death of a young mother. This is an in depth look at each family member’s grief and ultimately a story of resilience and healing.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic ARC. And the opportunity to read and review this book.

After Annie by Anna Quindlen was an easy and quick read for me, but left me wanting more. In reading it, I never felt fully immersed in the story or connected with the characters. It wasn’t until the toward the last quarter of reading the book that I felt like I was finally starting to really enjoy it. The story follows a family after their wife/mom/best friend passes. Her husband, Bill, struggles to know how to go on taking care of their four kids and unfortunately, has a pretty terrible mother, someone you’d think he would be able to lean on. Annie’s best friend, Annemarie, is the biggest mess of them all. I do feel the two big things that happen toward the end with her were wrapped up a bit too tidy. And then there were the four kids, oh how my heart hurt for them, especially Ali, the oldest. She definitely bore the burden of the whole family and pretty much kept them going, she is one strong girl that had way too much put on her at such a young age. I’m glad I read this book, I just wish it hadn’t taken so long for me to get into it.

She is an amazing writer! Always. - when Annie dies she leaves friends, children and a husband that struggle to move forward. I love that the theme about this is that no one every really dies or leaves us - but they leave a voice behind

This is an incredibly sad book. If you have lost someone close to you, this may be quite triggering. Personally, I prefer my books to have more happiness in them, and this just didn't have that.

This was my first Anna Quindlen book and I thought it was well-written and interesting, but the subject is pretty depressing. When Annie Brown dies of a brain aneurysm at 37 years old, she leaves behind a devastated husband, children, and best friend. The story focuses mainly on her husband Bill, her oldest child Ali, and her recovering addict best friend Annemarie. Each of them react in very different ways to their loss. Bill very quickly becomes involved with an ex-girlfriend from high school, Ali becomes the caretaker to her younger siblings, and Annemarie falls back on past vices. As they learn more about Annie through the patients she worked with as an aide at the local nursing home, they each start down a path to moving on. Thanks to #netgalley and #randomhouse for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Heart-Breaking Exploration of the Impact of Profound Loss

Anna Quindlen's After Annie is a heart-breaking yet hopeful novel that centers around the Brown family after the matriarch and “centrifugal force”, Annie, unexpectedly dies. The story centers on the aftermath of the catastrophic event and its impact on her husband, four children and best friend.

Narrated from the perspective of her widow, Bill, her best friend Annemarie, and her oldest child, Alexandra (Ali), the reader comes to know Annie not directly through her character but through the memories of those who loved her. While Bill grapples with the weight of his new responsibility, his daughter Ali shoulders unexpected burdens, and the younger children attempt to navigate their new motherless world.

Quindlen weaves a rich, relatable tapestry that captures the raw emotions of grief, filled with moments of despair, anger, and the yearning for normalcy.

Highly recommended as one of the most unique stories I've read in 2024, After Annie is a rich, character-driven story that tackles difficult subjects with honesty and sensitivity while celebrating the resilience of the human spirit.

I wanted to LOVE this book. I really did. But in the end, it was just too melancholy for me to say I adored it. It’s beautifully written, and the characters are real and relatable…I just felt sad the whole time I read it. I’m giving it four stars simply because of the talent of the author. But the storyline is just too down in the dumps for me to sing the praises unless someone is looking for that specific type of read.

After Annie by Annie quindlen is a quiet novel about a family’s grief when their beloved mom/wife/best friend Annie dies unexpectedly. The novel tracks the following year as the family wrestles with the loss. Anyone who has been through a sudden loss can relate to the feelings explored in this book. The book is not plot heavy but rather a contemplative character study and a study in quiet grief. The way quindlen explores grief and incorporates Annie throughout (the way her voice introduces into the characters lives and the memories that float in and out from every day interactions and lives) is very true and masterful. The perspective from the best friend is also a clever and unique view to integrate as it is a pov that really gets explored with loss and grief.

If you are looking for an action driven plot, this isn’t the book for you. But if you are into character driven novels and “slice of life” I would recommend this one!

Thanks to the publisher for providing the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"𝙉𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙛𝙚'𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨."

Annie dies in the opening sentences of this quietly beautiful novel but the character is brought to life through the perspectives of her husband, teenage daughter and lifelong best friend as they grieve their loss. The emotions Anna Quindlen conjures in the characters are so real and raw, and the story is simple but powerful. I loved listening to the author's lyrical words narrated by Gilli Messer - it gets all the stars!

Thanks to Random House for the copy to review.

A touching, poignant story of a family's adjustment to the loss of their pivotal member, the wife, mother and closest friend of the characters. In her trademark lovely style, Quindlen delves into the emotions that come with coping with sudden grief and loss of someone so young and at the high point in their lives. Annie herself, though gone, remains in the hearts of those left behind as they try, each in their own individual way, to find a way through their sorrow to acceptance of their terrible loss.

Highly recommended. My thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this lovely novel.

Even though I was approved for this book from NetGalley kind of late in the game, I wanted to thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader. I would have definitely submitted a nomination to Indie Next if I had requested it early enough. I’ve read several books by Anna Quindlen and feel that in After Annie, just as in One True Thing, she has taken a difficult subject and made it readable and thought provoking. This book now lives on our staff favorites table with a handwritten shelf talker. I look forward to recommending this to our book groups. Thank you for approving me for this title!

Annie dies in the first few pages of the book and what follows is a look into how those closest to her deal with their grief. The story is told over the following seasons from the POVs of her husband, Bill, her daughter, Ali, and her best friend Annemarie. Despite her death early on the page, I enjoyed getting to know Annie through the lens of those closest to her.

I'm currently in my "books about grief" era and After Annie did not disappoint!

Special thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of After Annie, all opinions are my own.

Get your tissues ready. “Annie Brown died right before dinner” is the first sentence in the story of the Brown family.
This book is a love story. The love of two best friends. The unconditional love between husband and wife. And the love of a mother and her four young children. What follows is a family and a best friend learning to cope without Annie, the woman who centered their lives. It’s a story of healing and strength. It’s a story of hope.

This was my first Anna Quindlen book and I was pleasantly surprised. It starts out strong and the entire story kept me interested and wanting to read on. I really grew to like each of the characters and became invested in what was happening to them. You won’t regret picking this up!

I took my time to write the review of this book. It was heavy. One day, your mom is there and next day she is not. Aneurism only needs a second to take your loved ones from you. It could make daughters little moms, husbands little children, and best friends train wrecks. It can happen to anyone at any moment of their lives.

Annie was asking for a painkiller second before she dropped on the floor of her kitchen. Her daughter didn’t know what to do other than keeping her siblings quiet in the other room. Her husband was hoping in that ambulance that would take her away from her family. Her friend… she was trying hard to not to pick up the bottle because she promised Annie.

It was as slow as it should be like the people in this story processing the loss. It was raw and emotional. It was tiring. I needed to read some thrillers and lighthearted stories after this one. If you lost someone under similar circumstances, maybe take a moment before you pick this one up.

Gosh, this was an exceptionally wonderful book that was equally difficult and heartbreaking to read, as it is about a topic that is most of our worst nightmares: dying suddenly and leaving our families behind.

I'm roughly the same age as mother Annie, and at the same life stage, so at times this novel was tremendously difficult for me to get through. Quindlen perfectly describes the human experience of losing someone who is at the center of everything. Not to overstate my role, but it was heartbreaking for me to imagine life for my kids and husband as I read what was happening to Bill and his four children after Annie's death. Quindlen just gets right to the heart of it with breathtaking and emotionally charged writing.

Although Annie dies in the very first sentence of this novel, her voice and impact is felt through the descriptions of her loved ones. It is a really stunning portrayal of their grief and growth in the year after her death. I loved Ali, the eldest child and Annemarie, Anne's long time best friend who saved her from addiction.

This book will not be for everyone, and you need to be in the right place in your life to read it. For some it may be just too difficult to read. But for others, who are moved by the everyday actions of everyday people going through challenges, this is a wonderfully written book that will touch your heart.

After Annie dies suddenly of a ruptured aneurysm, her family struggles to come to terms with her death. Ali, the oldest of four children and barely a teenager, is left to pick up the pieces. Over the course of the next year, the family starts to grow into their new situation. Bill, Annie’s husband, begins to take on the responsibility of the family. Annie’s best friend realizes she can go on. Annie has provided them with the strength and love to continue their lives without her.

Annie Brown lives for only one page in Anna Quindlen's After Annie. We learn about Annie after her death as her husband, children, and best friend, Annemarie, cope with the sudden death of a 30-something woman. Quindlen does an outstanding job showing the various ways that grief manifests itself as both the Brown family and Annemarie stumble through the first year after Annie's untimely death.

Annie Brown was the lynchpin in the Brown family -- the one whose husband and children looked to as well as being the confidant to Annemarie whose past battles with addiction never stop resurfacing. The Brown family and Annemarie are often at odds with each other as they learn to take on different roles without the woman who was the glue keeping the Brown family together.

Anna Quindlen's writing is lyrical and thoughtful as she takes readers on this journey through grief. Thank you to #NetGalley and #Random House for this electronic ARC of #AfterAnnie.,

After Annie is almost vintage Quindlen. It is a powerful story of loss--what it looks like, how it feels, and its ramifications on everyone in Annie's family and friendship circle. The cycles of grief are examined and among the many things this book does, is show that grief takes all forms and there is no one proper way to grieve. The loss of someone changes all of us, some ways good and some ways bad. Quindlen shows the reader that it's what we do with the lessons from loss that count; not the loss itself. Learning to navigate the world forever without the one lost to us is a universal experience that is different for everyone.