Annie works at a nursing home, her patients love her. Annie is a mother who takes care of her family and her family loves her for it. Annie is a cherished best friend. This beautifully written story is about what happens in the year after Annie dies. It covers how the family tries to get through the hard times and how Annie's best friend struggles. It was such a compelling story. I highly recommend.
Thanks to #netgalley, #randomhouse and @annaqwrites for an ARC of this book.

Another winner by one of the most amazing writers in women's fiction. Anna Quindlen proves you don't need a murder mystery to create tension, conflict, and a great story. Just ordinary people trying to get through an ordinary tragedy. She turns real life into art. A masterpiece.

I love Anna Quindlen’s books. This book breaks your heart right away and continues to chip away at it through the rest. I didn’t think I’d enjoy a book about grieving, but the humanity of the characters paired with the flashbacks really helped me feel connected to the type of person Annie was and the legacy she left behind. I loved the different perspectives, especially having a friend who grew up with her. As a mother now, it was special to read about the ways mothers are born into their new role and how it affects friendships and the need to have them evolve with you. I recommend this book!

When Anne “Annie” Fonzheimer Brown, a mother of four in her thirties, dies suddenly, her children, husband and lifelong best friend are left struggling to cope with their loss. Her husband Bill, reeling from the shock of his wife’s sudden demise and drowning in his own grief finds it difficult to juggle his business and family responsibilities, unable to fathom how to address their new reality with his four children - thirteen-year-old Alexandra “Ali”, eleven-year-old Anthony “Ant”, eight-year-old Benjamin “ Benjy”, and six-year-old James “Jamie”. Ali takes it upon herself to hold the family together, assuming the role of an adult to take care of her father and siblings, each of whom is missing their mother in their own way. Annemarie, Annie’s closest friend, who depended on Annie for support during her dark phases, falls back into her destructive habits, struggling to keep her life from hitting rock bottom.

The narrative follows these characters over the course of a year as they navigate life without Annie, whose unconditional love, support and guidance remain a source of strength even though she has passed on.

After Annie by Anna Quindlen is a beautifully penned, evocative character-driven story that explores loss, grief, addiction, family and remembrance. This is a quiet, slow-paced novel written in simple yet elegant prose. The characters are real and relatable, as are their emotions and reactions to the bereavement they experience and the people around them. The narrative is structured in segments covering the seasons of the following year. As her family members and best friend mourn Annie, we are given insight into who Annie was as a person and her dynamic with those around her, through their memories of her. The sub-plots revolving around the main characters add depth to narrative while also allowing us to explore their respective personal journeys over the course of a year. The story features several supporting characters, most of whom have a significant role to play. While shared loss can bring people together, grief also requires individuals to cope with their respective loss in their own space. The author brilliantly captures both these aspects - how grief manifests in different ways and how Annie’s near and dear ones, the adults and her children, gradually learn to move on in her absence, both as a family drawing strength from one another and as individuals with hope and emotional resilience. Needless to say, this is a thought-provoking story that inspires pause and reflection.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Random House for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. .

If you are following my reviews in order, you will see that this is my third book in a row about loss. Good grief, what was I thinking? Well, I was thinking: I will read anything Anna Quindlen writes. (Because I have read them all.) And, if you know Anna Quindlen, you will also know that, having lost her own mother at a young age, most of her books, like Disney movies, involve the mother dying. Why, Anna, why? Oh, right, because you do it so well. And even though I knew in advance the mother was going to die (I think it's right there in the summary), it still took me by surprise. Because I had hoped... but there are so many beautiful moments in this book, so many disparate ways of dealing with grief amongst family members. Quindlen is a masterful storyteller, and while I would like her to let a mother live to a ripe old age, I will always be here for her, even if she doesn't.

This book was healing, hopeful and sad. I connected with the characters and the story It was a good read

Beautifully written but sad. A story of grief, family and love and loss, This book captures a family in their struggle after the loss of their mother. It goes back and forth in time to show how someone’s short time on earth can really make an impact.

Anna Quindlen’s quiet novel both invites us in and keeps us at arm’s length, which seems a fitting tone for a story steeped in grief and disbelief. The author deftly weaves together the befores and afters of Annie Brown’s all-too-short life, and Quindlen’s prose is what bumps the book from three to four stars.

As seems somewhat common with untimely deaths – only the good die young, right? – the Annie of the title is remembered reverently following her sudden death of an aneurism one evening while cooking dinner for her husband and four young children. “What would Annie do?” or “What would Annie say?” are unspoken threads, most particularly in the lives of her husband, Bill, best friend, Annemarie, and adolescent daughter, Ali, as each mourns for her in mostly silent, lonely ways.

Hardworking Bill can’t seem to step up and be the wise, affectionate, steady, nurturing dad his kids so desperately need in the aftermath of their mother’s death. Annemarie teeters between wanting to be supportive and being incredibly selfish and self-destructive as she struggles with an opioid addiction that Saint Annie earlier rescued her from (in a rather unrealistic and contrived manner, by the way). And Ali, on the brink of young womanhood – in all the ways eldest daughters may recognize – tries to mother her brothers in all things practical: waking them in the morning, getting them off to school, monitoring homework, and preparing dinner—not to mention trying to keep two smelly hamsters alive, perhaps a metaphor for the emotional neglect of this entire family.

An unnecessary side plot has the poor girl suspecting her enigmatic best friend may be the victim of incest. Not sure why that was necessary, except as a device to show Ali’s longing for her mother’s wisdom and advice, but that’s a pretty heavy load for an already grieving 13-year-old and the resolution is unsatisfying, like so many of life’s mysteries. The novel is structured into seasons—spring, summer, etc.—giving the family opportunities for dormancy, rebirth, and hope in the form of a compassionate school counselor who is the only adult who acts like a grownup.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read.

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!