After Annie by Anna Quindlen

There is a small list of writers who, whenever they publish a book, I read it. I don't hem. I don't haw. I don't wait. I just read it immediately because I am a superfan of these writers. They include Anne Lamott, David Sedaris, Curtis Sittenfeld, Ruth Reichl and this author, Anna Quindlen. I have read every one of her books, both fiction and non-fiction. Recently, while in Thailand, I dove into "After Annie," her latest novel. One of the things you know about Quindlen, if you are familiar with her work, is that her own mother died young, at the age of 40 from Ovarian cancer. The author has explained in interviews that so many of her books try to deal with that death, searching to find the mother she lost. "After Annie" opens with the sudden death of Annie Brown, mother of four young children, wife to Bill and friend to many. Her instantaneous death from a brain aneurysm, sends her family and friends into a downward spiral. Her husband, a plumber, is left with a home full of four grieving children to manage. Her 13-year-old daughter, Ali, is faced with the responsibility of caring for her little brothers. And, her best friend Annemarie returns to the destructive behavior Annie had helped her escape. In Quindlen's beautiful novel these people do not break. They struggle, cry, disagree and want to give up, but they do not. The thing about loss that I have learned, and Quindlen demonstrates, is that the pain never goes away. The loss is always with you, but it can make you stronger than you ever imagined. A year of mourning can tear people apart, or bring them together. In "After Annie" her friends and family celebrate her legacy by learning to survive the loss together. Follow Quindlen on Instagran @annaqwrites To buy this book on Amazon click here.